Activist Jimmy Lai's family in Canada 'not surprised' but saddened by Hong Kong conviction

The daylight a Hong Kong margaret court say come out the ruling in the tribulation of pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai, his family in Ontario's Niagara Region stayed up through the late evening, waiting to hear the decision.

Erica Lepp, Lai’s niece, who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake, kept hitting the refresh button on news sites before finally finding what she was looking for.

On Monday, Lai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese government, was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious material.

He had pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai, 78, was arrested in 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. He owns Vintage Hotels, a string of inns across Niagara. A British and Hong Kong citizen, he was founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

Three judges used 161 articles from Apple Daily as evidence in their 855-page decision.

Lepp was told by her uncle’s legal team from the beginning that “this would be the outcome, no matter what.”

“I feel like my uncle was made an example and that was always the case.

"I'm very sad ... I feel sad for Hong Kong as a whole. And I know my family feels the same way," Lepp said, adding she was sharing supportive text messages with cousins before the decision.

His family in the U.K. Was also saddened but not surprised by the judges' decision, said his son, Sebastien Lai, according to The Associated Press.

"In the 800-page verdict they have, there is essentially nothing, nothing that incriminates him," Sebastien reportedly told journalists in London. "This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been moulded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn't like."

"This verdict proves that the authorities still fear our father, even in his weakened state, for what he represents," his daughter Claire wrote in a statement, as reported by the AP. "We stand by his innocence and condemn this miscarriage of justice."

Lepp recalled visiting her uncle in Hong Kong during her childhood. Her mother was Lai’s twin sister.

“It’s such a different place,” said Lepp. “This to me almost feels like the final nail in the coffin, in terms of what Hong Kong was and what it is now, and the freedoms that the people in Hong Kong have.

“This was never a fair trial, ever,” Lepp added.

The week before the guilty finding, Amnesty International’s Niagara chapter sent out 43 letters to Lai at the Hong Kong prison where he's being held, as part of its Write for Rights campaign.

“We know that Mr. Lai is being made an example of,” said Lidija Biro, member of the local Amnesty International group, as they continue to plead to world leaders in aiming to get leniency in Lai’s sentencing.

Lai’s children reported that their father has lost 22 pounds in the past year, as well as some of his nails and teeth.

Lai’s lawyers also stated the he has been suffering heart palpitations and requires a heart monitor and medication, according to Reuters.

Lepp said he also has diabetes.

“We were hoping for some leniency due to his age and his declining health,” said Biro.

Several governments around the world have urged action, including after Lai was found guilty.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously called for Lai's release.

In the wake of the decision, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday that, "Canada condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law in Hong Kong."

"We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy which are enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law."

Also on X, U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said, “The U.K. Condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai,” and called for Lai’s immediate release and his access to independent medical care.

Cooper added Lai was “targeted” by the Chinese and Hong Kong government under national security law “imposed on Hong Kong to silence China’s critics.”

Conservative U.K. MP Priti Patel urged Prime Minister Keir Starmer to raise the issue with President Xi Jinping so that Lai could return to his family in Britain.

On X, Patel added that the British government has “not done enough to oppose the suppression of freedom and human rights in Hong Kong” with the imposition of Beijing’s national security law.

U.S. President Donald Trump has also expressed support for Lai's release, to China's president in their meeting in South Korea last October, and suggested it would benefit U.S.-Chinese ties, according to Reuters.

Florida Sen. Rick Scott, commenting on X about the guilty find, said, “With this continuation of their wrongful imprisonment of Mr. Lai, [President Xi Jinping] and his friends in the [Chinese Communist Party] have proven they are not serious about establishing a better relationship between our two countries.”

Lai faces a possible life sentence with his collusion charge alone.

The sentencing process will begin early in 2026, with his mitigation hearing schedule for Jan. 12.

Reporter

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