Hong Kong – Hong Kong Free Press, Dec. 12, 2025
Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s defunct Apple Daily newspaper and a high-profile supporter of the city’s pro-democracy movement, has been accused of violating the Beijing-imposed national security law. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
The verdict in the national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is set to be handed down next Monday, according to the judiciary.
Lai, who just turned 78 on Monday, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third count of sedition under colonial-era legislation.
The media tycoon has allegedly used his now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper to lobby foreign nations to impose sanctions, blockades, or other hostile activities against China and Hong Kong.
He also stands accused of stoking hatred against the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong with 161 op-eds he allegedly wrote and published in his tabloid.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.
