“You can’t really arrest us all”
CNN, Jessie Yeung, Kristie Lu Stout, Karina Tsuui, December 15, 2025
“He founded Apple Daily, a fiercely pro-democracy tabloid newspaper known for its blistering broadsides against the Chinese Communist Party until its forced closure in 2021.
“Lai had pleaded not guilty to all charges, and now faces possible life in prison. Monday’s verdict marks the end of a tumultuous legal saga that had drawn condemnation from supporters and foreign leaders around the world, including US President Donald Trump—who had once vowed to ‘get him out.’ ”
“The imposition of the national security law [of 2020] has transformed Hong Kong, with authorities jailing dozens of political opponents, forcing civil society groups and outspoken media outlets to disband, and transforming the once freewheeling city into one ruled by ‘patriots only.’…
“Another supporter said he, too, had held no hope for Lai’s release, and described feeling numb [about] Beijing’s crackdown on the city. But, he said,
‘We’re still here…. You can’t really arrest us all.’ ”
“I feel so badly”
BBC, Koh Ewe, December 15, 2025
“US President Donald Trump says he has asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to ‘consider’ releasing Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon who was earlier this week found guilty under the city’s controversial national security law.
“ ‘I feel so badly,” Trump told reporters. ‘I spoke to President Xi about it and I asked him to consider his release.’
“The UK similarly called for the 78-year-old to be ‘immediately released’, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemning the ruling, calling it a ‘politically motivated persecution’.
“Lai, who is a British citizen, has been in jail since December 2020 and is due to be sentenced early next year. He faces a maximum term of life in prison.
“Trump made the brief comment to reporters at the White House on Monday—but did not specify when he had brought Lai’s case up to Xi.
“ ‘He’s an older man and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens, okay?’ he said.”
Commitment to principles
Washington Post, Shibani Mahtani, December 16, 2025
“The Communist Party ‘has never run across somebody with his combination of money, a media platform, and an unwavering commitment to principles,’ said Mark Clifford, the author of The Troublemaker, a book on Lai, and a former business associate at Lai’s media company, Next Digital.
“Still, Clifford added, Lai is ‘actually a rather shy and retiring person’ who ‘never had any intentions to lead’ a movement.
“ ‘It was easier for them to blame one man who was the alleged black hand or puppet master behind the protests than to think seriously about the aspirations of the Hong Kong people,’ Clifford said…..
“Those who have criticized the verdict or judicial proceedings…have ‘through despicable political manipulations and lies, attempted to glorify the criminal acts of Lai and his syndicate’ [said a spokesman for the Hong Kong government].”
Rule of law
China Global Television Network, December 15, 2025
“China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to certain countries’ blatant slander and smear against Hong Kong’s judiciary, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Monday.
“Guo made the remarks at a regular news briefing when asked to comment on the verdict against Jimmy Lai by the High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region amid claims from the UK and other countries that Hong Kong’s judicial and press freedoms have been undermined….
“Guo said Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law….”
Confident, unafraid, firm
Reuters, James Pomfret, December 16, 2025
“Hong Kong leader John Lee and national security police chief Steve Li told reporters on Monday they welcomed the verdict.
“ ‘The judiciary is confident and unafraid of any intimidation and firmly discharges its responsibility to safeguard national security,’ the city’s leader said at the airport before a regular visit to Beijing.
“Lai, who suffers from health issues including diabetes and high blood pressure, was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He had denied all charges.
“The verdict bookends a year that marked the essential disappearance of Hong Kong’s democratic opposition under pressure from Beijing. The Democratic Party voted to disband on Sunday.”
Willfully expressed his views
Hong Kong Free Press, December 15, 2025
“The media mogul also stood accused of stoking hatred against the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong through 161 op-eds he allegedly wrote and published in his tabloid. Since he was detained in December 2020, the mogul has been in jail for more than 1,800 days.
“The marathon trial began in December 2023, with closing arguments concluding in August 2025, after more than 150 working days. The media tycoon faces up to life in prison.
“On Monday, Judge Toh told a packed courtroom that Lai’s testimony was ‘evasive’ and ‘unreliable,’ saying his actions amounted to an American urging Russia to topple the US government….
“The judges also said the Apple Daily articles brought up in court were ‘objectively seditious’ and written to make people view the Hong Kong government with ‘hatred and contempt.’
“Lai was using his newspaper to spread his political agenda, the judges added.”
Must be released
Amnesty International, December 15, 2025
“Responding to today’s conviction of Hong Kong newspaper founder Jimmy Lai on national security charges, Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said:
“ ‘This verdict shows that Hong Kong’s so-called “national security” laws are not in place to protect people, but to silence them [said Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks]. It should also serve as a warning to all people doing business in Hong Kong: that pursuing opportunities in the city comes with severe legal risks.
“ ‘This verdict is not just about one man; it is the latest step in a systematic crackdown on freedom of expression in Hong Kong: targeting not only protests and political parties, but the very idea that people can—indeed, should—hold power to account.
“ ‘Jimmy Lai is a prisoner of conscience, jailed solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, and he must be immediately and unconditionally released. The law that has been used to target him, and so many others, must be internationally condemned for what it is: a cover for the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong to carry on their crackdown.’ ”
Stood up to Chinese Communist Party
NPR, Emily Feng, Ashish Valentine, December 15, 2025
“ ‘He believed there must be someone to stay behind to show the rest of the world that Hong Kongers are willing to stand up to the Chinese Communist Party no matter how huge the cost will be,’ said Finn Lau, a Hong Kong political activist who once worked with Lai and who had been implicated in his national security case.”
Also see:
Acton Institute: Film: “The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom”
