Jimmy Lai's niece in Niagara Region says it's 'a sad day for Hong Kong' after he gets 20-year prison term

Jimmy Lai's niece in Niagara-on-the-Lake says it's a "sad day for Hong Kong" after the pro-democracy activist and media mogul was sentenced to 20 years in prison under a China-imposed national security law.

"This is an example of just how much has changed in Hong Kong in terms of freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press. My heart breaks for Hong Kong," Erica Lepp told Metro Morning on Monday.

In custody since 2020, Lai was found guilty in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

In sentencing the 78-year-old on the weekend, Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of his term should be served consecutively to his jail term in his fraud case, for which he received a sentence of five years and nine months. Lai can appeal his case.

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Hong Konger-Canadian groups across Canada — including in Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Montreal — have also denounced the sentencing of Lai, calling it "draconian."

In a joint statement, the groups said keeping an "elderly prisoner" who is diabetic and has already spent much of his 1,800 days in custody in solitary confinement is "cruel," "degrading" and a "violation of international human rights."

Lai, a fierce critic of Beijing, founded Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong that ran for 26 years until it was shut down in 2021. He also owns several hotels in the Niagara Region.

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"Niagara-on-the-Lake was very much his home in Canada," said Lepp.

She added that the small town's community is tight knit and always asks about Lai.

"No doubt with the news last night ... that it will be on all of our local newspapers, and we will receive a lot of messages about it. It's a wonderful community who loves my uncle and our family deeply."

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