Hong Kong leader John Lee slams Jimmy Lai after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison

Описание: (10 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Hong Kong - 10 February 2026
1. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee walking into press conference
2. Mid of media
3. SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) John Lee, Hong Kong Chief Executive:
"Jimmy Lai, who has betrayed the country, and Hong Kong, has been sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. A heavy punishment that sends a solemn warning against malicious plots of collusion with external elements, and endangering national security. Lai has committed numerous heinous crimes, and his evil deeds were beyond measure. The heavy sentence of twenty years imposed on him manifests that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done. Lai had long used Apple Daily to poison the minds of the people of Hong Kong by inciting hatred, distorting facts, deliberately stirring up social antagonism, and glorifying violence."
4. Pan of press conference
5. John Lee walking out at end of press conference
STORYLINE:
Hong Kong leader John Lee slammed the former publisher of the popular Apple Daily newspaper Jimmy Lai at a press conference Tuesday.

Lai, the pro-democracy former media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison.

It is the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced Hong Kong's dissent.

Lee welcomed Lai's sentencing, saying that Lai had "betrayed the country, and Hong Kong," and accusing Lai of using his newspaper to "poison the minds of the people."

Lai started his Apple Daily newspaper in 1995, but it had to close in 2021 after police raids, arrests and the freezing of its assets.

Still, it has not erased the memories of Apple Daily, once a popular newspaper in Hong Kong known for its critical reports against authorities in the city and China.

Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The maximum penalty for his conviction was life imprisonment.

His co-defendants, six former employees of his Apple Daily newspaper and two activists, received prison terms of between 6 years and 3 months, and 10 years on collusion-related charges.


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