British billionaire found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong

Pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong.

The media tycoon and British citizen, 78, was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a national security law following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Sky News' Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith, who is at West Kowloon Law Courts Building, said Lai looked "drawn and thin" as he listened to the verdict being delivered.

He had previously been sentenced for several lesser offences during his five years in prison. Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security, as well as one count of conspiracy to distribute seditious publications.

He has been found guilty of all three charges and could be sentenced later to life in prison. Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that the evidence showed Lai had extended "constant invitations" to the US to help bring down the Chinese government and had spent years considering what leverage the US could use.

"There is no doubt that the first defendant had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC (People's Republic of China) for many of his adult years," Judge Toh said. She added that the court was satisfied that Lai was the "mastermind" of the conspiracies and that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai's intent was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.

The chief executive of the Hong Kong government, John Lee, said Lai "has long been using his media outlet, Apple Daily, to wantonly create social conflicts, incite social antagonism, incite hatred, glorify violence and openly beg for foreign sanctions against China and the HKSAR, attracting external interference". He added: "He has harmed the fundamental interests of the country and the well-being of the people of Hong Kong; his actions are shameful and his intentions malicious." Lai has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement.

His family say his health has worsened as a result and that he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart palpitations. His son Sebastien Lai described his father's "rapidly" declining health as "heartbreaking" during a press conference later on Monday.

Mr Lai said: "In the 800-page verdict that they have, there's essentially nothing. "There's nothing that incriminates him.

There's nothing that even under their own legal system would make him guilty." Mr Lai added that it is a "perfect example" of how the law has been "moulded and weaponised against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn't like". Mr Lai urged the UK government to "put action behind words".

He said: "Make my father's release a precondition to closer relationships with China." Downing Street condemned the verdict, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's official spokesman saying: "We will continue to appeal to the Chinese government ahead of Jimmy Lai's sentencing for his release and access to medical treatment. "Jimmy Lai's case has been a priority for this government and the prime minister, and as the foreign secretary has said, we condemn the politically motivated prosecution that has resulted in today's guilty verdict." He added: "The UK has repeatedly called for Beijing's national security law to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it, and we will continue to call for his immediate release." The UK "cannot shy away from engagement" with China, he insisted, when asked if Sir Keir still planned to travel to the country and meet its leaders next year.

The spokesman would not be drawn into saying whether the Labour government planned to summon the Chinese ambassador over Lai's case. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said she condemned the "politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai that has resulted in today's guilty verdict".

She added: "Jimmy Lai has been targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression. "Beijing's National Security Law was imposed on Hong Kong to silence China's critics.

The UK has repeatedly called for the National Security Law to be repealed and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. "We continue to call for Mr Lai's immediate release, for all necessary treatment and for full access to independent medical professionals." China's ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, met with a senior official at the UK Foreign Office "to lodge solemn representations over the UK side's statement that made irresponsible remarks on the Hong Kong High Court's guilty verdict in the Jimmy Lai case.