78-year-old Jimmy Lai, who was convicted in December of colluding with foreign forces in violation of the heavily criticized national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong in 2020, has now been sentenced.
Jimmy Lai founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, which was often critical of Beijing. He is an outspoken critic of China's ruling Communist Party.
Lai's family calls the sentence "draconian." It has also been condemned by Human Rights Watch and by UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who say it violates international law.
Hong Kong's pro-Beijing leader John Lee, however, called the punishment "deeply satisfying."
In December, US President Donald Trump said he had asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to release Lai.
The Hong Kong national security law was passed by China's National People's Congress on June 30, 2020, and is purportedly intended to "protect national security."
The law lists four categories of crimes: separatism (secession), subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign powers or foreign elements that could seriously threaten national security.
The law has been condemned by a wide range of countries, as well as the EU and experts, who say it effectively abolishes the principle of "one country, two systems," which, under the agreement when Britain handed Hong Kong to China, is to apply until 2047.
According to the agreement, Hong Kong will also make its own laws.
