Multiple central govt’s authorities in HKSAR voice support for 20-yrs-imprisonment sentence of anti-China riots instigator Jimmy Lai
The Correctional Services Department of the HKSAR vehicle transports Jimmy Lai, who arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in Hong Kong on February 9, 2026. Photo: VCG
Multiple central government’s authorities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) expressed firm support on Monday for the HKSAR in fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to safeguard national security and in lawfully handing down a sentence decision in the Jimmy Lai case after the High Court of the HKSAR on Monday morning sentenced Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, to 20 years in prison.
This sentence sends a stern and forceful message that no matter who it is, anyone who dares to challenge laws safeguarding national security will be severely punished, the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement on Monday.
The sentence imposed on Lai fully demonstrates the HKSAR’s firm resolve to safeguard national security and powerfully underscores the spirit of the rule of law, the office said.
The sentence handed down to Lai fully reflects Hong Kong society’s united indignation against the ringleaders of anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting activities, and strongly upholds fairness and justice, the office added.
Lai was found guilty in December by the High Court of the HKSAR on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials. Mitigation hearing for Lai's case began on January 12 and concluded on January 13, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The defendants in the national security case include Lai, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and Apple Daily Internet Limited, all facing charges of conspiracy to publish seditious materials and conspiracy to collude with external forces. Lai was also facing a separate charge of conspiring to collude with external forces, per Xinhua.
The trial officially commenced on December 18, 2023, and has been presided over by three judges appointed under the national security law in Hong Kong, Xinhua said.
During the 156 days of public hearings, 2,220 pieces of evidence and more than 80,000 pages of documents were fully presented in court, and 14 prosecution witnesses testified in person and were carefully cross-examined. The facts of Lai’s crimes in colluding with external forces to endanger national security were clear, the evidence was solid and sufficient, and the proceedings were open, transparent, rigorous, compliant, fair, and just, with all of Lai’s lawful rights fully protected. The 855-page conviction judgment was based on clear reasoning, a spokesperson from the central government’s office for safeguarding national security in HKSAR, said on Monday.
The trial process fully demonstrated that Lai was a principal planner and participant in a series of anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting incidents. He long manipulated media tools to create and spread rumors, foment division, incite hatred, glorify violence, and even clamored about “fighting for the US.” He acted as an agent and advance operative of external anti-China forces, was a behind-the-scenes “instigator” of the “amendment bill unrest,” and was truly a ringleader of anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting activities. He was the mastermind behind the three charges of conspiring with external forces to endanger national security, the spokesperson said.
His actions seriously endangered national security, severely challenged the constitutional order of the HKSAR, and gravely harmed Hong Kong’s prosperity, stability, and the well-being of its residents. His crimes were grave and, according to law, deserved severe punishment, the spokesperson added.
A spokesperson from the central government’s liaison office in the HKSAR said this sentence fully reflects the HKSAR’s firm determination and strong resolve to punish, in accordance with the law, criminal acts and activities that endanger national security.
During the lawful trial and fair adjudication of Lai’s case, some politicians from countries such as the US and the UK ignored the basic norms of international relations, disregarded the strict national security laws of their own countries, and ignored the conclusive evidence in the Lai case, the spokesperson said.
They colluded with anti-China and Hong Kong-disrupting figures who had absconded abroad, openly supported and shielded Lai, glorified his actions, and attempted to intervene and exert pressure, seeking to absolve him of his crimes—thereby fully exposing their barbaric nature and the hypocrisy of their double standards, the spokesperson noted.
Lai’s crimes are heinous and numerous. His 20-year imprisonment sentence demonstrates the rule of law, upholds justice, and is deeply gratifying to the public, the HKSAR Chief Executive John Lee said on Monday in a social media post.
For a long time, Lai used Apple Daily to poison the minds of citizens, incite hatred, distort facts, deliberately sow social division, and glorify violence. He openly begged external forces to impose sanctions on the China and the HKSAR, sacrificing the well-being of the people, betraying the country, and harming Hong Kong. The evidence against him is overwhelming, and he has received the punishment he deserves, Lee said.
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