The pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with foreign forces in violation of Hong Kong’s contentious national security law.
However, Hong Kong’s leader described it as “deeply gratifying” despite rights organisations calling it a death sentence for the 78-year-old, whose family has expressed concerns about his health.
This is the most severe penalty allowed by the rule, which China enforced after massive 2019 demonstrations calling for greater freedom, and which it claims is necessary to maintain the city’s peace.
The most well-known of the hundreds detained by the statute is Lai, a British national. An outspoken opponent of China, he frequently used his publication, Apple Daily, as a vehicle for protest.
Sebastien, Lai’s son, told the BBC’s Today show, “It is incredibly heartbreaking.” He also mentioned that he has brought up Lai’s incarceration with the UK government on several occasions, but “obviously my father is still in prison.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent trip to China has been condemned by some as a lost chance. According to Sebastien, the sentence “signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice.
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