Senior financial officials and lawmakers from the business sector in Hong Kong welcomed the 20-year sentence imposed on Jimmy Lai Chee-ying on Monday after the high court convicted the former media mogul of violating the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region National Security Law.

Three national security judges handed down the sentence at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building earlier in the day, following Lai's conviction in December 2025 on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.

The 78-year-old Lai is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily and its parent company, Next Digital.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po described the sentencing as "the result of a fair trial conducted in accordance with the law under Hong Kong's judicial system".

"Over the years, Lai has used Apple Daily to manipulate public opinion, oppose the nation and destabilize Hong Kong, incite hatred against the central and the SAR governments, promote secession, and even advocate external forces to interfere in China's internal affairs," he wrote in a social media post.

"These actions have seriously endangered national security and the safety and stability of Hong Kong while undermining investor confidence and the city's reputation as an international trade and financial center," Chan added.

The G19 lawmakers, comprised of 17 Legislative Council members from the Election Committee and functional constituencies, expressed firm support for the verdict.

In a joint statement, the legislators said that after the implementation of the NSL, Lai and his codefendants had continued to openly collude with foreign anti-China forces, harming the interests of the SAR, all Hong Kong residents, and the entire nation.

"Their acts were extremely serious and egregious, leaving no room for pardon, and needed to be severely punished under the law," said the group, whose members include Ronick Chan Chun-ying of the finance constituency, Andrew Yao Cho-fai, and Erik Yim Kong of the commercial constituency.

Tommy Chung Ki-fung of the import and export constituency emphasized that national security is the fundamental guarantee for economic prosperity, saying that the ruling would provide favorable external conditions for Hong Kong's business environment.

gabylin@chinadailyhk.com