The Last Free Press

On December 29, 2025, a Hong Kong court found Jimmy Lai guilty of sedition and collusion with foreign forces under the National Security Law. He faces life in prison. His crime: running a newspaper.[1]

Apple Daily

Jimmy Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995. At its peak, it was Hong Kong's most-read newspaper — tabloid energy, serious investigations, and an editorial line that never flinched from criticizing Beijing. It endorsed the pro-democracy protests of 2014 and 2019. It published leaked documents. It named names.[2]

On June 17, 2021, 500 police officers raided Apple Daily's newsroom. They seized hard drives, notebooks, and reporters' phones. They arrested five editors. Seven days later, Apple Daily published its final edition. Residents lined up before dawn to buy copies. The print run sold out within hours — one million copies, ten times the usual.[3]

“They don't want to just shut down the paper. They want to make an example so that no one ever tries again.”
— Mark Simon, former aide to Jimmy Lai

The National Security Law

Beijing imposed the National Security Law on Hong Kong on June 30, 2020, bypassing the territory's legislature entirely. The law criminalizes secession, subversion, terrorism, and “collusion with foreign forces” — defined so broadly that speaking to a foreign journalist can qualify. Maximum penalty: life imprisonment.[4]

Since its passage, over 260 people have been arrested under the law. Every major pro-democracy organization in Hong Kong has dissolved. The city's independent unions, student groups, and civil liberties organizations are gone. The Professional Teachers' Union — 95,000 members — disbanded in 2021 after state media called it a “political tumor.”[5]

The Trial

Lai's trial began in December 2023 and lasted over a year. The prosecution presented his tweets, his interviews with foreign media, and his newspaper's editorials as evidence of “collusion.” An op-ed calling for international sanctions was cited as proof of conspiracy with foreign powers.[6]

The trial was conducted without a jury — a provision of the National Security Law that allows the Chief Executive to remove jury trials for national security cases. Three hand-picked judges delivered the verdict.[7]

Lai is 77 years old. He has been in custody since December 2020. He was denied bail after Beijing intervened to overrule a Hong Kong court that had granted it. He spends 23 hours a day in solitary confinement.[8]

The Silence

The Committee to Protect Journalists ranks Hong Kong as one of the world's worst jailers of journalists. Reporters Without Borders dropped it 68 places on the World Press Freedom Index since the NSL passed — from 80th to 148th.[9]

Western governments issued statements. The UK called the verdict “politically motivated.” The US State Department said it was “deeply concerned.” No government imposed consequences. Trade with China continues. Financial institutions remain in Hong Kong. The message is clear: press freedom is a value, not a policy.[10]

Jimmy Lai built a newspaper that told the truth about power. Power took the newspaper. Then it took him.