The BLUF - December 16th

Good morning everyone,

This is Atlas, and you’re reading the Bottom Line Up Front, where we cover the top geopolitical stories from around the world every Tuesday!

Today’s topics:

• Hong Kong Media Mogul Convicted By CCP For Speech Violations, Faces Life In Prison

• Trinidad & Tobago Establish Deeper Ties With The U.S. Military Amidst Deeper Tensions With Venezuela

• Trump Sues The BBC For $10 Billion Dollars

Hong Kong Media Mogul Convicted By CCP For Speech Violations, Faces Life In Prison

_{By: Atlas}

A Hong Kong court on Monday found Jimmy Lai guilty of sedition and colluding with foreign forces, convicting the 78-year-old newspaper founder on all three charges in a landmark national security trial that has drawn condemnation from Western governments and press freedom advocates.

The verdict, delivered in an 855-page ruling by three government-approved judges, could send the former media mogul to prison for the rest of his life. Two of the charges—conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under Beijing's national security law—carry sentences of up to life imprisonment. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 12.

Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has been detained since December 2020. He has spent more than 1,800 days in custody, almost all of it in solitary confinement, according to his family and legal team.

Prosecutors alleged Lai used Apple Daily to call for sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials as punishment for cracking down on pro-democracy protests in 2019. They also accused him of funding international campaigns to garner support for such sanctions.

During his 156-day trial, which concluded in August, the court scrutinized Lai's social media posts, interviews and public remarks while probing his ties with political leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom and Taiwan. Prosecutors cited his connections with former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as evidence that Hong Kong's unrest was engineered by outsiders.

The court's reasoning

Judge Esther Toh said the court found Lai had "harbored his resentment and hatred" of the People's Republic of China for many years and never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party.

Lai's advocacy for foreign sanctions against China constituted a criminal act that endangered national security, the court ruled. The judge said Lai continued his activities "in a less explicit way" even after the national security law took effect in June 2020.

"There is no doubt that [Lai] had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years," Toh said in delivering the verdict.

Lai had pleaded not guilty to all charges. In testimony late last year, he described the idea that he had been advocating for Hong Kong's independence as "crazy." His defense attorney, Robert Pang, argued during closing arguments in August that it was "not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country."

Six former Apple Daily executives testified as prosecution witnesses against Lai.

Health concerns and detention conditions

Lai's family has repeatedly raised concerns about his deteriorating health during his years in detention. His son Sebastien Lai told reporters in London on Monday that his father has lost approximately 10 kilograms—about 22 pounds—over the past year alone.

The elder Lai suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. His daughter Claire Lai said he is losing fingernails and has battled recurring infections, chronic back pain and inadequate medical care. His lawyers in September launched an urgent appeal to the United Nations, saying there was a risk to his life because of his continued detention.

The Hong Kong government has rejected the allegations, saying Lai has received appropriate treatment.

Sebastien Lai called the conviction a demonstration of how the national security law has been "molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn't like."

"It's time to put action behind words, and make my father's release a precondition to closer relationships with China," he said.

International condemnation

The verdict drew swift criticism from Western governments and human rights organizations.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Lai had been targeted by Beijing and Hong Kong "for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression."

"The UK condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai that has resulted in today's guilty verdict," Cooper said in a statement. "We continue to call for Mr. Lai's immediate release, for all necessary treatment and for full access to independent medical professionals."

The European Union called the prosecution "politically motivated and emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020."

The Committee to Protect Journalists called the ruling a "sham conviction" that "underscores Hong Kong's utter contempt for press freedom."

"Jimmy Lai's only crime is running a newspaper and defending democracy," said Beh Lih Yi, the group's Asia-Pacific director. "The risk of him dying from ill health in prison increases as each day passes—he must be reunited with his family immediately."

Reporters Without Borders described the conviction as "unlawful," saying it demonstrates "the alarming deterioration of media freedom in the territory."

"Make no mistake: it is not an individual who has been on trial—it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered," said Thibaut Bruttin, the group's director general.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China said Lai "was found guilty simply for engaging in journalism and for his faith in democracy."

"It is another sad reminder that Hong Kong arbitrarily detains political prisoners at a rate like Venezuela or Burma," the commission said. "That Hong Kong once vaunted rule of law system is gone, is now undeniable."

Beijing and Hong Kong officials respond

Chinese foreign affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing expressed "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" to attempts by foreign governments to criticize Hong Kong's judiciary.

"We urge the countries concerned to respect China's sovereignty and Hong Kong's rule of law, refrain from making irresponsible remarks on the adjudication of judicial cases in the special administrative region," Guo said at a briefing in Beijing.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office called Lai a "lackey" and "pawn" for external forces who endangered China's national security.

"Jimmy Lai is the main planner and participant in a series of incidents that are anti-China and aim to destabilize Hong Kong," the office said in a statement. "His actions seriously undermined the 'one country, two systems' principle, endangered national security and damaged Hong Kong's prosperity, stability and the well-being of its residents."

Hong Kong Security Secretary Chris Tang said the trial proved Lai had personally colluded with foreign forces and "clearly used journalism as a cover for behavior that would endanger national security."

"I must emphasize, this case involving Lai has absolutely no relation to freedom of the press," Tang said.

From stowaway to media mogul

Born in mainland China in 1948, Lai arrived in Hong Kong as a 12-year-old stowaway and later founded the clothing brand Giordano. He became politically active after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, printing more than 200,000 T-shirts and banners in support of the pro-democracy demonstrators. Beijing subsequently pressured his business in mainland China.

Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995, two years before Britain returned Hong Kong to Chinese control. The tabloid-style newspaper became one of Hong Kong's most-read publications and was openly critical of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments.

In August 2020, two months after the national security law took effect, 200 police officers raided Apple Daily's headquarters and arrested Lai and several senior managers. The newspaper was forced to shut down within a year after authorities froze its assets and arrested top executives.

President Donald Trump raised Lai's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting in October. Before his election in November 2024, Trump pledged to free Lai, telling a podcast host: "100 percent I'll get him out. He'll be easy to get out."

Trump said Monday he had asked Xi "to consider his release."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in March that getting Lai out of prison was "a priority."

"We've raised it in every possible form and they know that it's important to us," Rubio said. "It's not something we've forgotten about."

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