Jimmy Lai, a Catholic businessman and pro-democracy activist in Hong Kong, was found guilty on Monday, December 15, of two charges of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" and one count of "conspiracy to print and distribute seditious materials."
Lai, 78, will be sentenced "as soon as possible," said Esther Toh, one of the judges presiding over the trial. He faces up to life in prison.
Lai was first arrested in August of 2020, and has been imprisoned since December 31, 2020. Most of his time in prison has been in solitary confinement.
Lai was accused of violating Hong Kong's National Security Law that came into effect in 2020 following a series of pro-democracy protests in 2019. Specifically, Lai was accused of talking to foreign diplomats and politicians, and publishing pro-democracy articles in Apple Daily, a newspaper he owned.
On Monday, Lai's family was joined in the courtroom by Cardinal Joseph Zen, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, as the verdict was read. Cardinal Zen himself was previously arrested for violating the National Security Law; he was later fined.
Conviction of Jimmy Lai sparks international outcry
Lai's conviction was immediately condemned throughout the Western world, with politicians and NGOs urging some sort of action.
“Jimmy Lai's only crime is standing up for freedom and truth at great personal cost. He is one of the greatest Christian witnesses of our time; and if the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) does not release him, they will make him a martyr," Ashley McGuire, senior fellow of The Catholic Association, said in a statement provided to Aleteia.
The Catholic Association is an organization dedicated to "defending religious liberty, life, and the Church in the public square."
Lai, said McGuire, is a "global hero" and "the modern face of conscience rights in the face of totalitarianism."
Although Lai is facing the rest of his life in prison, his "abiding faith has made it clear that his hope is found in something much greater than earthly powers," she said.
"The CCP will be forgotten, but Lai's courage will be remembered and celebrated forever," said McGuire, adding, “Free Jimmy Lai or make him an eternal martyr. Those are the choices.”
Lai convicted in "sham trial"
“Jimmy Lai is guilty only of his unwavering belief in freedom for the people of Hong Kong,” said Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation U.S. Director Jonathan Stivers in a statement published on the group's website.
Stivers called for a "firm and resolute" response to Lai's conviction.
"Measures to hold Chinese and Hong Kong officials accountable should be immediately imposed by the Trump Administration if there is no progress on securing his humanitarian release from prison," he said.
Lord David Alton, a member of the House of Lords, called Lai's conviction a "sham trial" that was "worthy of Stalin and Mao Zedong."
"This sick theatre has nothing to do with justice. All of us who know Jimmy Lai admire his integrity and honesty. His crime is to believe in democracy and freedom. When CCP dictatorship ends, Jimmy Lai’s heroic defence of freedom will long be remembered and celebrated," said Alton.
He continued, "Totalitarian kangaroo courts and show trials will be consigned to the dustbin of history. The great people of Hong Kong and China will then have a political and judicial system which upholds justice and human rights rather than systematically oppressing them."
