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Taiwan condemns 'harsh' sentence for Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai

Taiwan's government on Monday condemned the "harsh" sentence handed out to Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and called for his release.

Ben Blanchard/Reuters

February 9, 2026

A prison van believed to be carrying Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building for sentencing in his national security collusion trial, in Hong Kong, China, February 9, 2026.

Tyrone Siu/Reuters

TAIPEI - Taiwan's government on Monday condemned the "harsh" sentence handed out to Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and called for his release.


"Jimmy Lai's harsh sentence under Hong Kong's National Security Law not only deprives him of his personal liberty and tramples on freedom of speech and press freedom, but also denies the people's basic right to hold those in power accountable," Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.


Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed/Reuters

TAIPEI - Taiwan's government on Monday condemned the "harsh" sentence handed out to Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and called for his release.


"Jimmy Lai's harsh sentence under Hong Kong's National Security Law not only deprives him of his personal liberty and tramples on freedom of speech and press freedom, but also denies the people's basic right to hold those in power accountable," Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.


Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Jamie Freed/Reuters

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