The hearing lasted only two days, half the expected four days. So it was over on January 13. Nikkei Asia reports that no date was given for the sentencing of Jimmy Lai (January 13, 2026).
Late last year, Lai was found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the National Security Law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong, as well as of publishing seditious materials through his defunct pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily. He had denied all the charges.
Now the three national security judges that presided over the trial, all appointed by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, are poised to hand down a sentence that could keep the 78-year-old Lai in jail for the rest of his life.
When Lai’s chief defense lawyer, Robert Pang, asked about the timing of sentencing Tuesday afternoon, Justice Esther Toh did not give a specific date but promised the court would decide and announce the schedule “as soon as possible.”
Whether Lai’s expected punishment for opposing the subjugation of Hong Kong will be softened seems to largely depend on whether the court accepts and sympathizes with concerns about Lai’s health. And the judges don’t seem to accept or sympathize with such concerns.
Also relevant is whether they would be willing to go against the Chinese Communist Party, which probably wants life imprisonment for Lai. The Party seems to regard him as troublemaker number one among pro-democracy Hong Kong activists. The conviction of Lai and the 855-page tome that the judges churned out to rationalize the conviction suggest that these are not the arbiters of justice to buck authority.
There had been talk by UK officials and the U.S. president about pressing Xi Jinping to release Lai, and they may have mentioned the wish during diplomatic meetings. Before moving on to other things.
