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Hong Kong sentences outspoken publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison

Jimmy Lai walks through the Stanley prison in Hong Kong, on July 28, 2023. (Louise Delmotte/AP)
Louise Delmotte/AP
Jimmy Lai walks through the Stanley prison in Hong Kong, on July 28, 2023. (Louise Delmotte/AP)

Pro-democracy advocate and former media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison.

He was convicted in a Hong Kong court last year on charges of endangering national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The punishment is the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law.

Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, has long been a target of the Chinese ruling party because of his free-speech views. His daughter, Claire Lai, speaks with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan, who also spoke with Claire Lai following her father’s conviction last year.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

Here & Now Newsroom