Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison amid condemnation by the U.S.U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday released a statement, “The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case. It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.”
“After enduring a trial lasting two years, and detention in prison for more than five, Mr. Lai and his family have suffered enough. The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole,” the statement added.
U.S. House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chairman John Moolenaar released a statement on the website saying this is the latest in the human rights abuses by the CCP of overstepping its promise of one country, two systems in Hong Kong.
“The sentencing of Jimmy Lai is the latest stain on the human rights record of the Chinese Communist Party and the farce of its promise to uphold one country, two systems,” he wrote.
“Lai and his Apple Daily colleagues are being punished for exposing the truth about the CCP’s attacks and the rights of Hong Kongers,” Moolenaar added.
He said he will work in Congress to sanction those responsible.
Lai’s sentence is the heaviest penalty so far under Beijing’s imposition of the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), which virtually silences dissenting opinions in Hong Kong, just like it has since it seized control of China in 1949.
The NSL criminalises any open speech, verbal promotion or intention of Hong Kong’s secession from China, including subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign organisations.
Lai’s son Sebastian Lai says the 20-year sentence of his 78-year-old father amounts to life in prison.
“Obviously it was expected, but it was still pretty devastating. You kind of have doubt as to whether I’ll see my father again,” he said.
Lai was convicted last December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces and sedition.
And at that time, U.S. President Donald Trump said, “I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it and I asked to consider his release.”
“He’s an older man and he’s not well.”
“So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens,” he added.
Trump is expected to visit the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in April, potentially an opportunity to push again for Lai’s freedom.
Lai’s son said he is grateful for Trump’s support for his father.
“The president of the United States, President Trump, which has said that he will free my father, something I’ve been incredibly grateful for, has given my family a lot of hope.”
“And at this point, it’s about saving him,” he added.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently met with Xi over trade talks.
Sebastian said the UK needs to do more for his father, a British citizen, and not seek to normalise relations with China.
“There’s no normalisation until my father’s out. There’s no closer relationship until my father’s out, because if they can’t even do something so simple, then what can we possibly expect from that relationship?” he said.
Lai’s arrest was among the first under the NSL.
He had the opportunity to leave Hong Kong, avoid arrest, and save his fortune.
“But if I leave, I will totally disgrace myself and also undermine the solidarity of the democratic movement,” Lai said before his arrest.
He founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, once a vocal critic of the CCP.
The Hong Kong news media has been facing increasing scrutiny and censorship since NSL, including The Epoch Times Hong Kong which shut down in 2024 due to intimidation and threats on newspaper vendors, including assault on one of its reporters and fire set on printing facilities.
Hong Kong was ranked 140th out of the 180, being the worst, on press freedom in 2025, according to the RSF World Press Freedom Index.
China is the bottom three countries in press freedom, ranking 178th in the index.
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the world’s largest prison for journalists, and its regime conducts a campaign of repression against journalism and the right to information worldwide,” according to the report.
112 journalists and three media workers were reported to be detained in China.
