Lai, a longtime China critic and former media tycoon, arrived for his sentencing Monday in what prosecutors and courts have framed as a national-security case, and what critics say reflects the shrinking space for dissent in Hong Kong. The court imposed a 20-year term on the 78-year-old former Apple Daily founder, who had been convicted in December in a case involving allegations that he conspired to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious articles.
Court filings and the sentencing ruling described Lai’s punishment as the longest given so far under the China-imposed national security law. The maximum penalty for the convictions he received was life imprisonment, according to the case reporting described in court coverage. Lai smiled and waved at supporters when he arrived, but before leaving the courtroom he looked serious as some people in the public gallery cried, and his lawyer Robert Pang declined to comment when asked about whether they would appeal.
The sentencing also covered six former Apple Daily employees and two activists who entered guilty pleas that, the case coverage said, helped reduce their terms. Several of the defendants were described in the court record as having earlier admitted they conspired with Lai to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades, or to engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China. In addition, the judges said the prosecution witnesses’ evidence “significantly” contributed to the conviction of Lai.
Among the co-defendants, the convicted journalists included publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee. They received prison terms ranging between six years and nine months and 10 years on the collusion-related charges, while the two activists, Andy Li and Chan Tsz-wah, received terms of six years and three months and seven years and three months, respectively. The coverage described how the courts reduced penalties for Cheung, Chan and Yeung in part because they testified against Lai.
The judges’ reasoning, as described in the reporting, said Lai was “no doubt the mastermind” of the three conspiracies charged and therefore “warrants a heavier sentence.” The panel said it increased the starting point of Lai’s punishment because of the mastermind finding. It also cited reductions that it tied to factors including Lai’s age, health condition and the impact of solitary confinement, and it ruled that 18 of his security-case years should be served consecutively to a separate fraud prison term he was already serving.
The case’s reporting also detailed Lai’s legal and medical circumstances. It said Lai had been in custody for more than five years and that, in January, Pang said Lai had suffered health issues including heart palpitations, high blood pressure and diabetes. The prosecution said a medical report noted his general health condition remained stable, and the government said Lai’s solitary confinement was at his wish.
Outside the courtroom, U.S. President Donald Trump said he felt “so badly” after the verdict and noted he spoke with Xi Jinping and asked him “to consider his release,” while U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the sentence was an unjust and tragic conclusion and urged humanitarian parole. British officials, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, called for Lai’s release, and U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said the prosecution was “politically motivated” and that the prison term was tantamount to a life sentence, according to the case coverage.
Within Lai’s family and among rights advocates, criticism also centered on whether the outcome represented justice under Hong Kong’s legal system. In a statement, Lai’s son, Sebastien, said the “draconian” prison term was devastating for the family and life-threatening for Lai, saying it “signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice.” His sister Claire called the sentence “heartbreakingly cruel” and said, “If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars,” while Hong Kong leader John Lee said the sentence demonstrated the rule of law and cited serious crimes.
In Beijing, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said Lai is a Chinese citizen and described him as a major planner and participant in a series of anti-China destabilizing activities in Hong Kong, urging “relevant countries” to respect the rule of law. The sentencing coverage also said Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director Elaine Pearson called the 20-year term effectively a death sentence and said it was cruel and unjust.
Lai was arrested in August 2020 under the national security law that was used in a broader crackdown on Hong Kong activists, and he was one of the first prominent figures taken under the measure, the coverage said. Within a year, Apple Daily’s senior journalists were also arrested and the paper shut down in June 2021, changes that rights advocates and media groups described as a sign of declining press freedom in the city. The reporting also cited a Reporters Without Borders press-freedom ranking that placed Hong Kong at 140th out of 180 territories in 2025, compared with 18th in 2002.