Hong Kong: The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR)’s High Court on Monday morning found Jimmy Lai, an instigator of anti-China riots in Hong Kong, guilty on two charges of conspiring to collude with external forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
Multiple central government departments of China voiced their support on Monday for the verdict.
The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council said on Monday that it firmly supports the HKSAR’s legal conviction of Jimmy Lai, a chief culprit behind the anti-China and disruptive activities in Hong Kong. Numerous facts revealed during the court proceedings clearly prove that Lai engaged in activities that endangered national security, further solidifying the public’s perception that he was a chief culprit behind the past chaos in Hong Kong. He is a traitor who willingly serves as a “lackey” of external forces. People across the country, including our compatriots in Hong Kong, are outraged by this and strongly demand that he be severely punished according to the law, the office said.
As Hong Kong’s first case involving the “conspiracy to collude with external forces” offense since the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai faced a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if found guilty, some legal experts told the Global Times on Monday. The case was adjourned to January 12, 2026 to plead with other defendants, with the sentencing date to be determined later, Sing Tao Daily reported on Monday. The defendants include Lai, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and Apple Daily Internet Limited, all facing charges of conspiracy to publish seditious materials and conspiracy to collude with external forces.
Lai was also facing a separate charge of conspiring to collude with external forces, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Following the verdict, some international organizations that hold anti-China stance and the UK made negative statements, which the Chinese government and the Chinese Embassy in the UK expressed firm opposition to.
Hong Kong upholds the rule of law. The central government firmly supports the HKSAR in safeguarding national security and punishing crimes that endanger national security in accordance with the law, Guo Jiakun, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday.
China deplores and firmly opposes certain countries blatantly making false accusations against Hong Kong’s judicial affairs. Judicial authorities in HKSAR fulfill their duties, safeguard the authority of the law and defend national security in accordance with the law. This is justified, legitimate, lawful and beyond reproach. The relevant judicial case is purely Hong Kong’s internal affair, Guo said.
We urge relevant country to respect China’s sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong, and refrain from making irresponsible remarks on the trial of judicial cases in HKSAR or meddling in Hong Kong’s judicial affairs and interfering in China’s internal affairs in any form, the spokesperson added.
The Chinese Embassy in the UK issued a statement on Monday strongly opposing and condemning the unjustified action by the UK side after UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper openly commented on the conviction of Jimmy Lai and smeared the National Security Law for Hong Kong.
Lai is by no means the peaceful advocate for free speech that the UK claims; his actions have severely undermined the bottom line of the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, endangered national security, and harmed the prosperity, stability, and welfare of Hong Kong’s citizens. Such serious crimes should be met with severe punishment under the law, the embassy’s spokesperson said. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
