Jimmy Lai verdict: Gov’t slams journalist union for ‘whitewashing’ media tycoon, as foreign press club silent

2025-12-16 09:02 25 min

The Hong Kong government has condemned a local press union for “whitewashing” media mogul Jimmy Lai in a now-removed statement. The tycoon faces life imprisonment after being found guilty in a landmark national security trial.

Jimmy Lai in 2020. Photo: HKFP.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) came under fire from the government on Tuesday, saying it had conducted the “subversive work of brainwashing” youngsters. The criticism came a day after the group expressed “utmost regret” over Lai’s conviction in the city’s first foreign collusion case.

Explainer: What is the Hong Kong Journalists Association and what does it actually do?

A government spokesperson criticised the government-registered press union as lacking credibility, legitimacy and representation. It was “contemptible” that the group claimed it represented the news industry, when it refused to disclose its executive committee members list, they said.

The HKJA and “anti-China” foreign media “ignored” and “did not respect” the verdict in Lai’s case, which was handed down based on the law and evidence, the government said. They tried to “conceal” Lai’s crimes, and slandered the Hong Kong government, the spokesperson said, without naming any outlets.

“The SAR government strongly urges the HKJA and these anti-China foreign media to recognise the facts as soon as possible… [and] immediately give up doing any form of subversive work of brainwashing on young people in the SAR. The SAR absolutely does not tolerate any behaviour that incites the public to turn their backs on their country and harm the interests of the citizens,” the statement in Chinese read.

Reporters outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on December 15, 2025, ahead of the verdict of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

On Monday, 78-year-old Lai, who founded Apple Daily in 1995, was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, and a third count of sedition under colonial-era legislation.

Lai’s three companies – Apple Daily Ltd, Apple Daily Printing Ltd, and AD Internet Ltd – were also convicted of two counts: a conspiracy to publish seditious publications and a conspiracy to commit foreign collusion.

The case involved six former senior staff of Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital, who pleaded guilty to their charges back in November 2022. Some testified against Lai during the 156-day trial.

‘Irreversible damage’

The HKJA was among several press groups that commented on Lai’s conviction. In a statement released on Monday, the association said individuals in the case were “imprisoned for engaging in journalism,” and that the situation “dealt irreversible damage to Hong Kong’s press.”

The union, which has around 300 members, also said the national security case forced Lai’s media organisation to shut down, leaving hundreds of journalists jobless.

Hong Kong Journalists Association. File photo: Selina Cheng/HKFP.

The statement has since been removed from HKJA’s Facebook page. HKFP has contacted the HKJA for comment.

The local press union was also slammed by Secretary for Security Chris Tang on Monday. He said Lai’s case had “absolutely nothing to do with press freedom,” adding he had used news as a “pretence” to engage in behaviour endangering national security.

Echoing Chief Executive John Lee and Beijing, Tang welcomed the verdict and said the tycoon was found guilty after a fair and open trial. The court had scrutinised the law and the evidence presented, making a judgment without interference or political consideration, he said.

Jimmy Lai’s trial timeline – click to view+

August 10, 2020 – Police arrested Jimmy Lai on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces. Over 100 police officers raided Apple Daily’s offices.
December 3, 2020 – Lai was arrested for alleged fraud and denied bail.
December 11, 2020 – Lai was formally charged with “collusion with foreign forces,” becoming the first person to be charged with collusion under the national security law.
December 23, 2020 – High Court judge Alex Lee granted bail to Lai on conditions including that he stayed at home except for court hearings and reporting to the police.
December 31, 2020 – Lai was put in custody after the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) allowed the justice department to appeal against Lai’s bail.
February 9, 2021 – The CFA ruled in favour of the government and Lai’s bail was revoked.
February 16, 2021 – Lai was arrested in custody on suspicion of assisting Andy Li abscond to Taiwan.
February 18, 2021 – The High Court dismissed Lai’s bail application.
April 1, 2021 – Lai, along with six other pro-democracy activists, was found guilty of organising and taking part in an “unlawful assembly” in August 2019. He was later sentenced to 12 months in prison for this offence. Lai was cleared of the organising conviction in August 2023. The case is still under appeal.
May 28, 2021 – Lai, along with nine other pro-democracy activists, was sentenced to 14 months in jail for his “organising” role in a protest in October 2019.
June 17, 2021 – Police raided Apple Daily a second time, arresting five senior executives including chief editor Ryan Law and Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung. Police also froze HK$ 18 million worth of assets linked to Apple Daily.
June 24, 2021 – Apple Daily issued its last edition after 26 years. Hundreds of supporters gathered outside its headquarters the night before as the tabloid went out of print.
December 13, 2021 – Lai, along with seven other pro-democracy activists, was found guilty for organising, taking part in, or inciting others to join the banned Tiananmen crackdown vigil in 2020. He was sentenced to 13 months in jail.
November 22, 2022 – Six senior executives of Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital pleaded guilty to collusion.
November 28, 2022 – Chief Executive John Lee invited Beijing to interpret the national security law to determine whether foreign counsels can participate in national security cases, after the government failed to block Lai from hiring British barrister Timothy Owen.
December 1, 2022 – Lai’s trial was adjourned until December 13 while the city waited for Beijing to “clarify” whether overseas lawyers are allowed to appear in such cases.
December 10, 2022 – Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months in prison for fraud over a lease violation of the Next Digital headquarters.
December 13, 2022 – Lai’s trial was adjourned again until September 25, 2023.
December 30, 2022 – The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress confirmed that Hong Kong’s chief executive and Committee for Safeguarding National Security had the authority to decide whether overseas lawyers could take part in security law trials.
August 18, 2023 – During a pre-trial review, Lai’s collusion trial was further postponed until December.
September 26, 2023 – Lai’s 1,000th day in custody. International groups called for his release, while the government slammed such demands as “slanderous.”
December 18, 2023 – Lai’s collusion case begins.
November 20, 2024 – Lai takes the witness stand.
March 6, 2025 – Lai wraps up his testimony after 52 days in the witness box.
August 18, 2025 – The court begins to hear closing arguments after proceedings were twice delayed – first due to bad weather and then to health concerns relating to Lai’s heart.
August 28, 2025 – The court adjourns verdict after finishing hearing closing arguments.

Meanwhile, press freedom watchdogs Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists both criticised the court ruling, as did officials from the US, the UK and the European Union.

Local press club

Hong Kong’s Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC), did not publish a statement in relation to Monday’s ruling. HKFP has contacted the club for comment.

Last August, it shared a statement following the conviction of editors from digital news outlet Stand News. The club’s website says it will continue to publish statements as “a core component of its mission.”

The Foreign Correspondents’ Club, Hong Kong. Photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.

On December 7, the FCC told HKFP it would not be commenting on a meeting Beijing’s Office for Safeguarding National Security held with international news chiefs earlier this month.

Separately, FCC President Morgan Davis told HKFP that the club was still waiting to confirm whether the lease on its government-owned premises would be renewed this month.

The club, located at the Old Dairy Farm Depot on Lower Albert Road in Central since 1982, was awarded a three-year lease extension in 2022.

Foreign media criticised

On Monday, the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Ministry in Hong Kong issued a letter addressed to Hong Kong-based foreign media. The letter, in a “Q&A” format, rejected claims of “judicial injustice” and claims that Lai was convicted because of press freedom.

A spokesperson for the office said Lai was not prosecuted for reporting news or expressing views through his media outlets. The tycoon “abused public opinion tools” to stoke hatred, intensify confrontation and boosted support for “riotous activities,” the office said.

The office also defended the trial proceedings, saying there were “fair and just procedures.” It dismissed concerns over Lai’s health and treatment behind bars, saying the media mogul appeared in court on verdict day in good condition, and “walked normally without needing assistance.”

Hong Kong police officers place a cordon outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on December 15, 2025, as the court hands down the verdict of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

Lai was put in solitary confinement based on “his own wishes,” while he has continued to receive Holy Communion in prison, the Q&A said.

On Tuesday, the office wrote separate letters to the US newspapers the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal to complain about their editorials relating to Lai.

A Washington Post article titled “Jimmy Lai and the End of Hong Kong” was slammed as a “wilful distortion” of the national security case. The office said the article ignored the “core plot of ‘collusion with external forces’, urging the newspaper to “return to professional ethics and factual accuracy.”

“Regarding the case of Jimmy Lai, let this be the final word – when freedom is abused as a dagger, the law must be upheld as a shield,” the letter read.

In its editorial, the Washington Post described Lai as a “pro-democracy stalwart” and that his guilty verdict “extinguished any flicker of hope that still burned in the once vibrant city.”

The newspaper called the case against Lai a “political show trial,” saying the designated judges had ignored the evidence and found him guilty of foreign collusion and sedition “among other ludicrous offenses.”

The article also mentioned the official dissolution of the Democratic Party on Sunday, and the “all-patriots” Legislative Council election held earlier this month, saying “with many casting invalid ballots as a form of protest.”

Democratic Party chairman Lo Kin-hei (first row, second from right) and members of the Central Committee meet the press on December 14, 2025 to announce its dissolution. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.

In its letter to the Journal, the office said its editorial titled “After the Jimmy Lai Verdict” had “reached new heights of absurdity.” It downplayed Lai’s collusion with foreign forces as rallying support, and described Lai’s call for sanctions against China as “fight for America.”

“Your carefully orchestrated ‘diplomatic script’ is nothing but a fantasy that disregards international law and national sovereignty,” it said.

The Journal’s editorial said Lai’s conviction was “no surprise,” and that the judgment – that is over 850 pages long – was “essentially an account of Mr. Lai’s longtime support for democracy in Hong Kong.”

The Journal said Lai’s conviction “may be perverse good news” as the tycoon was “never going to be released until the trial was over.”

“Dictatorships need to pretend that the innocent are guilty, and then broadcast the phony verdict to the public through their propaganda channels. Maybe now the attempts to free Mr. Lai, who is in ill health, will get serious,” the article read.

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