TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s government condemned Monday the 20-year prison sentence a Hong Kong court handed down to pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai under the city’s national security law. The Mainland Affairs Council said the punishment undermined freedom of speech and the press and called for Lai’s immediate release, Feb. 9, 2026.
Jimmy Lai sentence draws Taiwan’s sharp rebuke
In a statement carried in a Reuters report, the council called the term “harsh” and said it “tramples on freedom of speech and press freedom,” adding that it also denies people a basic right to hold those in power to account.
The council, which oversees Taiwan’s China policy, described the prosecution as “political persecution” and urged Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to “stop the political persecution and immediately release Lai,” according to Focus Taiwan. It also said Hong Kong’s experience should serve as a warning and urged Taiwanese people to safeguard their “hard-won freedoms,” the outlet reported.
A Hong Kong High Court sentenced Jimmy Lai, 78, to 20 years after convicting him of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count related to publishing seditious materials, the Associated Press reported. The sentence is the longest punishment issued so far under the national security law Beijing imposed in 2020. Judges said Lai was the “mastermind” behind the conspiracies and ordered 18 years of the term to run consecutively to a separate fraud sentence he is already serving, the AP said. Co-defendants — including former Apple Daily executives and activists — received prison terms ranging from six years and three months to 10 years.
Rights and media groups condemned the ruling. Amnesty International called the 20-year term a “cold-blooded attack on freedom of expression” and urged authorities to free Lai immediately and unconditionally.
How the Jimmy Lai case reached this point
Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 following months of pro-democracy protests. Jimmy Lai was arrested in August 2020, as Reuters reported at the time, in one of the early high-profile cases tied to the new law.
Apple Daily — founded by Lai in 1995 and known for its pro-democracy stance — became a symbol of the media crackdown. The paper printed its final edition in June 2021 after newsroom raids, executive arrests and an asset freeze, according to a Reuters account of the shutdown. A sister publication launched in Taiwan in 2003 and later ceased operations in August 2022, Focus Taiwan reported.
After repeated delays, the national security trial opened in December 2023 under heavy security and international scrutiny, the Associated Press reported. The court convicted Lai in December 2025 and sentenced him Monday.
Why the ruling matters beyond Hong Kong
Taiwan officials say the case illustrates how Beijing uses security laws to tighten control and curb civil liberties, and they urged other democracies to keep attention on Hong Kong. With sentencing now complete, advocates for Jimmy Lai are expected to renew calls for diplomatic action, while Hong Kong officials insist the prosecution is about national security — not journalism. When asked about an appeal, Lai’s lawyer declined to comment.
