China critic Jimmy Lai gets 20-year jail in landmark Hong Kong trial
Pro-democracy media tycoon convicted in national security case
Hong Kong’s most vocal China critic, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail, ending the city’s biggest national security case which drew global concern over clampdown on freedom in the former British colony.
Lai’s sentence on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials ends a legal saga that has lasted nearly five years. The 78-year-old British citizen has denied all the charges against him, saying in court he is a “political prisoner”.
Lai, founder of the feisty and now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020 and convicted last year. His sentence was within the harshest penalty tier for offences of a “grave nature”, judges said. The UK and US have been demanding his release for long.
Britain expands visa route for Hong Kong citizens
Britain said it was expanding its visa route for those who want to move from Hong Kong to the UK, in reaction to the Lai’s sentencing. Under the plan, children of British National (overseas) status holders at the time of the 1997 handover will be eligible to live in the UK with their families.
