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The Court of First Instance of the High Court today handed down sentences for Lai Chee-ying and the other eight defendants, as well as three companies relating to Apple Daily in respect of their convictions of a total of three charges of offences endangering national security. The total sentence for Lai Chee-ying was imprisonment for 20 years. As for the other eight defendants, their imprisonment terms ranged from six years and three months to 10 years. The three companies relating to Apple Daily were each sentenced to a fine of $3,004,500. Chief Executive John Lee said Lai Chee-ying has committed numerous heinous crimes and his evil deeds were beyond measure. Mr Lee added that the severe sentence imposed on Lai Chee-ying manifests that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done, and also brings great relief to all. “Lai Chee-ying had long used Apple Daily to poison the minds of our citizens, by inciting hatred, distorting facts, deliberately stirring up social antagonism and glorifying violence. He had openly begged for external forces to impose sanctions against China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, sacrificing the well-being of the people of China and the Hong Kong SAR. He betrayed our country and harmed Hong Kong, causing damage to the interests of our country and the Hong Kong SAR. His conviction is supported by overwhelming evidence, and he for sure deserves his punishment after all the harm he has done,” Mr Lee said. "Lai Chee-ying's malicious acts endangering national security have harmed the interests of our country and the Hong Kong SAR, as well as the interests of our citizens. The court, after 156 days of fair and impartial public hearings and having considered the irrefutable evidence of up to 2,220 exhibits, over 80,000 pages of documents and statements of evidence from 14 prosecution witnesses, concluded that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind behind those anti-China and destabilising activities. His acts are despicable and shameless,” he added. The Chief Executive also pointed out that the conviction of the heinous crimes committed by Lai Chee-ying was the first convicted case of the offence of collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security since the promulgation and implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL). “This marks an important milestone in the Hong Kong SAR's efforts to safeguard national security, manifesting the role of the HKNSL as a key stabilising force. This case also admonishes that villains who endanger national security could never escape the sanctions of the law and would surely be severely punished in accordance with the law. The Hong Kong SAR will continue to steadfastly safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests.” Mr Lee also remarked that Hong Kong as a whole has already paid a heavy price as some of the Hong Kong citizens, especially young people, have been misled to break the law and become radical and violent. As of the end of last year, more than 2,400 individuals have been held accountable for unlawful acts during the period of “black-clad violence”. The Hong Kong SAR Government said the court pointed out clearly in its verdict handed down earlier that Lai Chee-ying was the mastermind of the case, adding that he had manipulated and exploited Apple Daily to poison society, and repeatedly colluded with external forces to beg for sanctions and hostile activities against the Central Authorities and the Hong Kong SAR Government. It added that Lai Chee-ying's malicious plot spanned across both the periods before and after the promulgation of the HKNSL. The Hong Kong SAR Government noted that Lai Chee-ying's intent was to collude with external forces to harm the interests of China and the Hong Kong SAR, as well as those of Hong Kong citizens. It added that Lai Chee-ying also shamelessly acted as a pawn of external forces to endanger national security. After hearing the submissions of the defendants on sentencing in the hearings of January 12 and 13, the court provided a detailed account of its considerations in every respect in its reasons for the sentence handed down today. The court held that the offence of conspiracy to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications in this case fell within the most serious category for its type, and the two offences of conspiracy to commit collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security fell within the category of offences of “a grave nature”. The Hong Kong SAR Government stated that as the court pointed out in the reasons for the sentence, the offences took place at a time when Hong Kong had hardly recovered from the social turmoil caused by the anti-extradition law amendment bill movement. It added that the conspiracies were meticulously planned, involved multiple parties, and were clearly premeditated. The conspiracies involved the use of online platforms and a large number of seditious articles, targeting both local and overseas audiences, and some criminal activities were even conducted outside the Hong Kong SAR. The conspiracies were persistent ones, resulting in many acts rather than a single incident. The Hong Kong SAR Government also made it clear that after the enactment of the HKNSL, even though Lai Chee-ying's requests for foreign countries to impose sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile activities became more implicit and subtle, the change was only in form rather than in substance, with all the defendants continuing with their agreement for some time until after they were arrested by Police. It added that the sanctions imposed by foreign countries against the Hong Kong SAR, as well as against officials of China and the Hong Kong SAR have not been removed even up to today. The Hong Kong SAR Government said it is wholly unrealistic to say that Lai Chee-ying and others' activities were not a contributing cause. It emphasised that the court unequivocally identified Lai Chee-ying as the mastermind and the driving force behind the conspiracies, which constituted an aggravating factor and therefore enhanced the starting point for his sentence. The Government would forfeit the offence-related property of Lai Chee-ying in accordance with the law. It will also initiate the procedures pursuant to the Companies (Winding Up & Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance to have the three companies relating to Apple Daily struck off the Companies Register to safeguard national security.
At
3 a.m.
at the Hong Kong Observatory :
Air temperature : 17 degrees Celsius
Relative Humidity : 75 per cent
The air temperatures at other places were:
Hong Kong Observatory17 degrees ;
King's Park16 degrees ;
Wong Chuk Hang17 degrees ;
Ta Kwu Ling16 degrees ;
Lau Fau Shan16 degrees ;
Tai Po16 degrees ;
Sha Tin16 degrees ;
Tuen Mun16 degrees ;
Tseung Kwan O16 degrees ;
Sai Kung16 degrees ;
Cheung Chau16 degrees ;
Chek Lap Kok17 degrees ;
Tsing Yi17 degrees ;
Shek Kong16 degrees ;
Tsuen Wan Ho Koon15 degrees ;
Tsuen Wan Shing Mun Valley16 degrees ;
Hong Kong Park16 degrees ;
Shau Kei Wan16 degrees ;
Kowloon City16 degrees ;
Happy Valley17 degrees ;
Wong Tai Sin16 degrees ;
Stanley16 degrees ;
Kwun Tong16 degrees ;
Sham Shui Po16 degrees ;
Kai Tak Runway Park17 degrees ;
Yuen Long Park16 degrees ;
Tai Mei Tuk15 degrees .
Communicable Diseases Watch Volume 22, Number 1, Weeks 52 - 4 (December 21, 2025 – January 24, 2026)
Communicable Diseases Watch Volume 22, Number 1, Weeks 52 - 4 (December 21, 2025 – January 24, 2026)
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