TIMELINE: Hong Kong’s legal clampdown on Jimmy Lai, tycoon and China critic

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s High Court on Monday sentenced media tycoon and China critic Jimmy Lai to 20 years in jail for two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the city’s national security law, as well as one count of publishing seditious materials.

The 78-year-old Lai, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Here is a timeline of key events:

June 20, 1995

Lai publishes the first edition of Apple Daily.

June 12, 2019

Hundreds of thousands take to the streets in pro-democracy protests and police fire rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds.

June 30, 2020

China imposes a national security law (NSL) on Hong Kong; crimes like subversion or collusion with foreign forces could be punished with terms of up to life imprisonment.

August 10, 2020

Lai is arrested under the NSL over alleged “collusion with foreign forces” as 200 police raid his corporate and media headquarters. He is released on bail.

December 3, 2020

Lai is taken into custody after being denied bail on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of the headquarters of his listed firm Next Digital.

December 11, 2020

Lai is charged under the NSL for allegedly colluding with foreign forces.

December 23, 2020

Lai is granted bail.

December 29, 2020

Lai resigns as chairman of Next Digital.

December 31, 2020

Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal orders Lai back into custody, saying a judge erred in granting bail.

April 16, 2021

Lai is jailed for 14 months for taking part in an unauthorized assembly during a demonstration in August 2019.

May 14, 2021

Lai’s listed company faces mounting pressure, including a freeze on its assets, leading to its shutdown.

May 28, 2021

Lai is handed a second 14-month jail sentence, this time for taking part in an unauthorized assembly on October 1, 2019.

June 17, 2021

Police arrest five executives from Apple Daily, as 500 police officers raid and search its newsroom, seizing computers.

June 20, 2021

Apple Daily marks its 26th anniversary.

June 24, 2021

Apple Daily prints 1 million copies of its final edition, 10 times its normal print run.

September 29, 2021

Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan presents a petition to the Court of First Instance to wind up Next Digital.

December 13, 2021

Lai is sentenced to 13 months in jail for taking part in a banned vigil for victims of China’s 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

July 30, 2022

Secretary of Justice Paul Lam orders Lai’s trial be heard without a jury, citing the “involvement of foreign factors” and a “real risk that the due administration of justice might be impaired.”

November 22, 2022

Six former Apple Daily staffers plead guilty to conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces.

November 28, 2022

Hong Kong leader John Lee asks Beijing to rule on its bid to block foreign lawyers from working on national security cases, after the top court rules that British lawyer Tim Owen could represent Lai.

December 1, 2022

High Court postpones Lai’s security trial to December 13, pending a decision from Beijing on whether Owen can defend him.

December 10, 2022

Lai is sentenced to 5 years and nine months on a fraud charge linked to Next Digital’s lease.

December 30, 2022

China’s top lawmaking body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, gives Lee, the Hong Kong leader, the power to bar lawyers without the right to practice in Hong Kong from national security cases. The move effectively bars Owen from defending Lai.

May 19, 2023

Hong Kong’s High Court dismisses an attempt by Lai to challenge the ruling on legal representation.

May 29, 2023

Hong Kong’s High Court rejects an application to terminate the security trial against Lai.

August 18, 2023

During a pre-trial review, Lai’s trial is further postponed until December 18.

December 18, 2023

Lai’s national security trial begins.

January 2, 2024

Lai pleads not guilty to the charges.

November 20, 2024

Lai begins testifying, saying he never tried to influence the foreign policy of countries like the US towards China and Hong Kong.

March 6, 2025

Lai finishes his testimony.

August 15, 2025

Closing submissions are delayed after Lai suffers heart palpitations, prompting authorities to provide medication and a heart monitor.

August 28, 2025

Closing submissions for Lai’s national security trial end, bringing the 156-day trial to a close.

October 30, 2025

US President Donald Trump raises Lai’s case in a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping.

December 15, 2025

A guilty verdict is handed down.

February 9, 2026

Hong Kong’s court sentences Lai to 20 years in jail.

– Rappler.com