“Mastermind” Jimmy Lai gets 20 years jail for collusion and incitement

Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years jail for treason related charges and the reaction from the international media and politicians is predictable.

They all decry Hong Kong and its judicial system as being unfair and persist in calling for his immediate release from prison.

They cite his failing health as a reason for his release. He has Type 2 diabetes, which is not uncommon in Hong Kong, including among the 10,000 inmates interned in local prisons.
In passing sentence, the three judges hearing the 156-day trial, noted that Lai was the mastermind and driving force behind these conspiracies. After considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai, as noted in the Reasons for Verdict, applying the totality principle, the Court was satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment.

In a show of total transparency, the sentencing document was 47 pages long. Relevant extracts were read out in court, with full copies given to lawyers, the media and uploaded on the internet.
Six other co-defendants were also sentenced to jail time ranging from 6 years and 9 months to 10 years.

Lai was convicted last month on sedition and colluding with foreign governments to overthrow the Hong Kong government. These are serious charges anywhere in the world and a sentence of 20 years for such offences is duly warranted. Undoubtedly, he will appeal.

Stanley prison, where he is interned, has full hospital facilities staffed by qualified healthcare personnel, and round-the-clock basic health care services are provided at all penal institutions. Lai is receiving the best medical treatment available. The Correctional Services Department has a full-time chaplain who co-ordinates the planning and provision of religious services and Lai, a devout Catholic, specifically asked not to receive any religious privileges. He also asked to be kept in solitary confinement so as to not mingle with other inmates. Justices of Peace visit the prison every week to hear complaints from inmates and inspect their facilities. He has not been deprived of medical or visiting rights as suggested by his children, Sebastien and Claire, who have embarked on a campaign for his immediate release.

Lai senior has been found guilty of colluding with foreign governments, yet this is exactly what his children are doing. With millions of dollars at their disposal, they have embarked on a world-wide campaign to free their father, a basic instinct, which can only be achieved with the help of a huge bank roll. They have lobbied politicians in the US, UK and EU to apply pressure on the Hong Kong judiciary and authorities to release their father. For the Lai family, colluding with foreign forces is their own salvation.

But the judiciary is totally independent, free from pressures by human rights groups, the media, politicians and, indeed, the administration. The three judges – Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang – sat through gruelling evidence over a period of two years (with gaps in between) and produced a 855-page detailed document explaining the reasons behind their guilty convictions. Representatives from the UK, US and EU with a bevy of press attended the proceedings every day. The courtroom was specially configured to allow 58 seats in the public gallery and another 42 for the press in the main courtroom. Of those, 21 are allocated to local media, 14 to international outlets and seven to digital news platforms. Nothing can be more transparent than that.

This was not a “sham” trial as suggested by the Lai followers. Hong Kong is rated 6th in the Asia/Pacific region and 24th out of 143 countries worldwide by the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, two points above the US. Its independence is beyond reproach.

Yet the western media is being used to cast doubt on the judiciary’s ruling and sentencing. Lai has been painted as a father of democracy, but “democracy” was not his rallying call. His whole campaigns have centred around separatism. He was seeking Hong Kong independence, like Alberta pulling away from Canada, California from the USA and Catalonia from Spain. All have been rebutted by their federal governments. Arrest warrants have been issued for former journalist Carles Puigdemont as leader of the Spanish revolt and now in exile in Belgium with separatism charges looming over his head.

But Jimmy Lai did not flee Hong Kong after the 2019-20 bloody riots, which he fuelled through his newspaper, Apple Daily. Instead, he stayed behind to face the music and to be hailed a martyr to the cause. It is because of this carefully orchestrated action that he got to the support of world leaders who mistakenly thought he was advocating democracy. They were fooled by a billionaire and his family into thinking that by giving him support, they were providing freedom to the people of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people have all the freedoms they want and can even criticize the government for maladministration without fear of persecution.

Democracy was never an issue. Hong Kong has a fully elected legislature, its president is elected by its members, and the Chief Executive is elected by a 1500-strong election committee – 1000 more than the US. Hong Kong has a democracy and its Basic Law (mini constitution) allows for the Chief Executive to be elected by universal suffrage sometime in the future.

Mark Pinkstone

** The blog article is the sole responsibility of the author and does not represent the position of our company. **

The figures are astounding: 17.5 percent of our children are obese or overweight with most students (94 per cent) not getting enough exercise, according to a report released by the Department of Health (DH) last week.

The report is a warning. If we do not look after the wellbeing of our children, they will grow up with deficiencies which will hamper their progression throughout their career.

The DH is to be applauded for the thoroughness of its report. During the 2024/25 school year, it assessed 256,000 primary school students and 172,000 secondary school students as to their life styles. The result is that they are lazy when it comes to physical activity. Some, 93.6 per cent of students (91.5 per cent of primary and 95.8 per cent of secondary school students) reported insufficient levels of daily physical activity, i.e. not having at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity daily.

This has consequences, says Dr Chuang Shuk-kwan, consultant in community medicine at the DH. Being overweight during childhood and adolescence adversely affects health, she says, and is associated with a greater risk and earlier onset of various non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers. Childhood and adolescent obesity can also have adverse psychosocial consequences, affecting students' school performance and quality of life.

Genetics, metabolism, sleep patterns and exposure to stress of adverse childhood events can also contribute to weight gain.

But overall Hong Kong is not doing too badly. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the world average for obese children is 19.8 per cent of school children aged 5-19 globally in 2025. This figure represents more than 391 million children affected by obesity with significant variation by region and country. For example, 33 million in China are estimated to be obese, while 14 million in India and 13 million in the United States are living with obesity. The WHO says that the prevalence of obesity has been increasing with a notable rise in high-income countries and regions.

The Government has been doing its bit. The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po recently proposed a $1.2 billion package for the promotion of sport, which would be available through the numerous sports associations in Hong Kong. If schools are smart, they could align themselves to any of these associations for the benefit of their students.

And then the government launched the inaugural Action Plan on Weight Management earlier this month, to bring together the strengths of various government bureaux and departments to enhance collaboration between Chinese and Western medicine. The purpose is to comprehensively promote weight management across Hong Kong through various activities and approaches.

More than 75 per cent of Hong Kong schools have joined these initiatives, which includes recommendations for exercise, diet and balanced screen time.

However, the fight against obesity in our youth also rests with parents and schools.

For a healthy body, sport and diet go hand in glove. In Hong Kong, despite the many sporting activities available their dietary habits are below the optimal dietary levels with about 90 per cent consuming fewer than the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables.

Another factor causing obesity is the extensive recreational use of electronic devices (smart phones, iPads, tablets and computers), which contribute to sedentary behaviour with a high proportion of Hong Kong students exceeding two hours daily, clicking their thumbs playing games on their smart phones. If a student’s legs can move as quickly as their thumbs, they will lead a healthy life and become pillars of society.

School and home environments, neighbor safety and social norms affect food access and activity levels.

At home, it is the responsibility of parents to provide a well-balanced diet for their children and refrain from fatty foods, deep fried foods and fast foods, which despite claims by the providers do not provide the necessary nutritional value required for a healthy body.

Schools are key settings for obesity prevention because children spend considerable time there, making it possible to shape lifelong dietary and physical habits.

Under the guideline provided by the Education Department, schools provide nutritious meals, promote fruit and vegetable consumption and limit unhealthy foods.

In Hong Kong schools either have their own kitchens to offer healthy lunches or they contract the service to outside catering firms. Either way they are carefully monitored to ensure they take out “strongly discouraged food items” from all menu choices and stop the supply of snacks and drinks categorised as “snacks to choose less” to reduce the intake of fat, salt and sugar by students.

Childhood obesity in schools is a multifaceted public health issue requiring a holistic approach. Schools can play a pivotal role by providing healthy meals, promoting physical activity, raising awareness and integrating preventive strategies into daily routines. Coordinated action involving students, parents, teachers, healthcare professionals and policymakers is essential to curb obesity.