Rubio calls pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai’s 20-year prison sentence in China ‘unjust and tragic’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the sentencing Monday in China of pro-democracy activist Jimmy to 20 years in prison is “unjust and tragic.”Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong, was sentenced by the city’s High Court, according to CNBC.
The 78-year-old Lai was convicted under the 2020 China-imposed national security law in December 2025 for colluding with foreign forces, endangering national security and conspiracy to publish seditious materials. He has been in detention for more than five years while serving a separate prison term on fraud charges.
“The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,” Rubio said in a statement. “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.”
Lai, a British citizen, was among the first prominent figures arrested in August 2020 under the security law that China implemented in Hong Kong, following pro-democracy protests in 2019.
The Apple Daily newspaper ceased operations in June 2021 after police arrested other company employees and froze its assets, ending its 26-year run.
Hong Kong authorities have claimed that the case was not targeting press freedom, but that Lai used news reporting as a pretext to commit acts that threatened China and Hong Kong’s security.
According to prosecutors, Lai conspired with six former Apple Daily staffers, two activists, and others to lobby foreign governments to impose sanctions and blockades or engage in hostile activities in Hong Kong.
Lai pleaded not guilty to two charges of colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.

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