Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said on the 9th, after Jimmy Lai was sentenced, that he has committed innumerable evil deeds and deserved to be heavily sentenced to 20 years in prison.
The Hong Kong High Court announced its verdict on the morning of the 9th: Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Media, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious publications.
According to the Hong Kong government press release, John Lee stated that Jimmy Lai's crimes are monstrous and innumerable, and that being heavily sentenced to 20 years in prison highlights the rule of law, upholds justice, and is greatly satisfying. For a long time, Jimmy Lai has used Apple Daily to poison the public, incite hatred, distort facts, deliberately create social division, glorify violence, and blatantly beg external forces to sanction China and the Hong Kong SAR, sacrificing the welfare of the people, betraying the nation and harming Hong Kong, damaging the interests of the country and the Hong Kong SAR. The evidence of his crimes is overwhelming and he deserves punishment.
He pointed out that Jimmy Lai’s heinous crimes make this the first verdict of its kind for conspiracy to collude with foreign or overseas forces to endanger national security since the promulgation of the Hong Kong National Security Law, and represent an important milestone in Hong Kong SAR’s work to safeguard national security. The National Security Law for Hong Kong serves as an anchor stabilizing society, warning those with harmful intentions against national security that they cannot escape the law and will be severely punished according to the law.
John Lee said that the court’s heavy sentence of Jimmy Lai and other defendants demonstrates the rule of law and justice. However, Hong Kong society has already borne a heavy price. Under the toxic influence of Jimmy Lai and the Apple Daily he operated, some citizens—especially young people—were misled into breaking the law, becoming radical and violent. During the "black violence" period, they damaged public facilities, stormed the Legislative Council and government buildings, threw petrol bombs, set large fires, and even burned people alive.
He added that young people even smuggled real firearms, manufactured bombs, and planned terrorist activities. Thanks to the police’s timely actions, mass casualties were averted. Many of those incited, including youth, have been imprisoned for their crimes. In fact, by the end of last year, over 2,400 people had faced legal consequences for crimes committed during the "black violence" period, clearly demonstrating the accumulated vile deeds of Jimmy Lai’s group and Apple Daily.