Jimmy Lai Gets 20 Years in Hong Kong Security Case (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: I'm standing outside the court here in Hong Kong where a former media mogul and longtime critic of China, Jimmy Lai, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison. In December, he was convicted, found guilty of sedition and two charges of colluding with foreign forces. Now, collusion here in Hong Kong is a very serious crime under the Beijing-imposed national security law, punishable by up to life in prison. In December, the judges presiding over the case, when they convicted Lai, they called him a, quote, mastermind of conspiracies. They pointed to his lobbying of U.S. politicians during the first Trump administration, as well as the use of his media empire, including the Apple Daily newspaper, and calling for international sanctions against China and Hong Kong during the 2019 protests. Now, this has been the most high-profile national security case since Beijing imposed the law on the territory in 2020. It has been roundly criticized by Western governments. The U.S. and other countries have called for the release of Jimmy Lai. In fact, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly pressed Chinese leader Xi Jinping to, quote, free Jimmy Lai during their talks last year. But China has repeatedly warned against any interference. Hong Kong insists that Jimmy Lai has received a fair trial. So what happens next? Well, an appeal process could be long, dragged out, low chance of success. Jimmy Lai is 78 years old, and he's already spent over five years in prison.