Court explains why Jimmy Lai is found guilty

已複製連結

Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital, was found guilty on all three charges in the case against him for violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. 

The Court of First Instance described him as the mastermind behind all three charges. The court is scheduled to hear mitigation from the defence on January 12th next year, with sentencing to be scheduled at a later date.

In its over 800-page judgment, the court said that substantial evidence showed that Lai, along with senior executives of Apple Daily, had requested foreign countries, particularly the United States, to impose sanctions on mainland China and Hong Kong before the implementation of the National Security Law. 

This practice continued after the National Security Law came into effect, but Lai adopted a more indirect and subtle strategy, toning down his inflammatory language. Therefore, the adjustment was in style, not in substance. The court also ruled that the articles in question were objectively seditious, far exceeding the scope permitted by law.