{"id":77454,"date":"2026-04-06T20:03:48","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=77454"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:03:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:03:48","slug":"secretary-rubio-other-leaders-denounce-jimmy-lais-tragic-20-year-sentence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/secretary-rubio-other-leaders-denounce-jimmy-lais-tragic-20-year-sentence\/","title":{"rendered":"Secretary Rubio, other leaders denounce Jimmy Lai\u2019s \u2018tragic\u2019 20-year sentence"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Hong Kong High Court\u2019s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,\u201d said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Feb. 9 \u4e00\u4efd<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jimmy Lai<\/a>, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced<\/a> on Feb. 9 to 20 years in prison over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations.<\/p>\n

The sentencing comes after Lai\u2019s December 2025 conviction<\/a>, which ended several years of what advocates have described as a politically motivated show trial. Lai, founder and publisher of the outspoken pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, was first arrested in 2020 after alleged violations of Chinese national security policy.<\/p>\n

Lai\u2019s ongoing case has drawn support from lawmakers, activists, religious leaders<\/a>, and political leaders around the world including President Donald Trump, who has advocated for Lai\u2019s release<\/a> and reportedly spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping<\/a> about the issue in October 2025.<\/p>\n

The sentencing \u201cshows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,\u201d Rubio said.<\/p>\n

The joint treaty was signed by the U.K. and China establishing the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from Britain to the People\u2019s Republic of China. It guaranteed Hong Kong a \u201chigh degree of autonomy\u201d to maintain its capitalist system and freedoms.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter enduring a trial lasting two years, and detention in prison for more than five, Mr. Lai and his family have suffered enough,\u201d Rubio said. \u201cThe United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catholic Rep. Chris Smith, R-New Jersey, also condemned the \u201cunconscionable\u201d 20-year sentence.<\/p>\n

Smith has been a prominent voice in promoting Lai\u2019s cause by authoring \u7acb\u6cd5<\/a> and chairing numerous congressional hearings to raise awareness of his case and call for his release.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy Lai is a man of faith and conscientious conviction, and he should be released immediately. Despite \u2014 or perhaps in spite of \u2014 his life\u2019s work as a legendary entrepreneur and a lion of free speech, Jimmy has been unjustly prosecuted and persecuted by functionaries who, for all purposes, are lackeys of the Chinese Communist Party,\u201d Smith said in a \u4e00\u4efd<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump has spoken eloquently on his behalf, and I ask the president to continue to prioritize Jimmy Lai\u2019s release, as well as the releases of Americans unjustly detained in China. Jimmy\u2019s poor health, due to his advanced age and mistreatment in prison, only underscores the necessity of his prompt release on humanitarian grounds,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Smith emphasized that \u201ctime is of the essence\u201d and said the U.S. \u201cmust use all diplomatic and economic tools at its disposal to advocate for the release of heroes like Jimmy Lai.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, who has also been a longtime advocate of Lai\u2019s, said the sentencing was \u201cfor the \u2018crime\u2019 of journalism.\u201d It \u201cshould put to rest any illusion that the Chinese government will relent until it exercises total control over the people of Hong Kong,\u201d he said in a \u4e00\u4efd<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis sham trial, carried out via Hong Kong officials acting on China\u2019s behalf, is an attempt by the Chinese government to extinguish press freedom, an effort that will never succeed as long as there are people like Lai who are brave enough to risk everything to speak the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be no business as usual while the Chinese government continues its campaign of brutal oppression against Hong Kongers. That includes Beijing\u2019s reliance on institutions such as Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices (HKETOs) to surveil political activism and push Chinese government propaganda in the United States,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cRepublicans and Democrats must stand united in the defense of the people of Hong Kong,\u201d Merkley said. The senator is working to pass a measure<\/a> to \u201cimpose real consequences on China \u2014 including the potential removal of diplomatic privileges from HKETOs \u2014 as a meaningful response to destroying Hong Kong\u2019s autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. \u201cmust signal unequivocally that Beijing\u2019s crackdown in Hong Kong is unacceptable,\u201d Merkley said. \u201cWe will never abandon those fighting for democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lai\u2019s team: \u2018The situation could not be more urgent\u2019<\/h2>\n

Lai\u2019s international team has also spoken out following the sentencing, calling attention to the lack of rule of law in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday marks the final blow to the rule of law in Hong Kong,\u201d said Caoilfhionn Gallagher, lead counsel of Lai\u2019s international legal team, in a press release. \u201cSentencing Jimmy Lai \u2014 already aged 78 \u2014 to two decades behind bars is an affront to justice and the culmination of over five years of malicious lawfare against a courageous, elderly British citizen and prisoner of conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNow that this sham trial is finally over, we call on leaders from around the world to speak with one voice in their demand for China to free Jimmy Lai so he can come home to his family in London at last,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlso sentenced today was the company itself, the company through which Apple Daily, the newspaper, was run so successfully for so long, and the other digital media outlets Mr. Lai founded and ran in Hong Kong,\u201d Jonathan Price, human rights barrister with the international legal team for Jimmy Lai, said during a Feb. 9 press conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose companies were fined 3 million Hong Kong dollars, despite the court acknowledging that they were insolvent and they have no means of paying it. What that demonstrates is the total destruction of press freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSentencing sends a crystal clear message that \u2026 lawful dissent in Hong Kong will no longer be tolerated. Twenty years is a very long time in anyone\u2019s life. Mr. Lai \u2026 is 78 years old. His health is rapidly failing. The situation could not be more urgent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.ewtnnews.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/secretary-rubio-other-leaders-denounce-jimmy-lai-s-tragic-20-year-sentence<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Hong Kong High Court\u2019s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case,\u201d said U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a Feb. 9 statement. Jimmy Lai, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced on Feb. 9 to 20 years in prison over what Chinese officials [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-77454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":77509,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/jimmy-lais-family-responds-to-20-year-prison-sentence\/","url_meta":{"origin":77454,"position":0},"title":"Jimmy Lai\u2019s family responds to 20-year prison sentence","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"6 4 \u6708, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Jimmy Lai\u2019s family is calling on national leaders to help free the Catholic pro-democracy activist after he received a 20-year prison sentence from a Hong Kong high court.\u201cThe life expectancy of the average male in Hong Kong is 83. My father was handed a 20-year sentence. He is five years\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u5728\u201cChristian News\u201d\u4e2d","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79541,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/pope-cannot-comment-on-jimmy-lais-imprisonment\/","url_meta":{"origin":77454,"position":1},"title":"Pope ‘cannot comment’ on Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"13 3 \u6708, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"CASTEL GANDOLFO, ITALY \u2014 Pope Leo XIV told EWTN News he \u201ccannot comment\u201d on Jimmy Lai, the Catholic founder and publisher of the outspoken pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, who was sentenced Feb. 9 on charges Chinese authorities say violate national security laws. 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The sentencing comes after Lai's\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u5728\u201cChristian News\u201d\u4e2d","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8120,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/jimmy-lai-remains-in-solitary-confinement-after-hong-kong-trial-delayed-until-november\/","url_meta":{"origin":77454,"position":3},"title":"Jimmy Lai remains in solitary confinement after Hong Kong trial delayed until November","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"6 8 \u6708, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"[ad_1] Hong Kong media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. \/ Credit: Napa Institute CNA Staff, Aug 5, 2024 \/ 17:01 pm (CNA). Media mogul and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai will remain in solitary confinement after a Hong Kong court on July 25 delayed the 76-year-old\u2019s national security trial\u2026","rel":"","context":"\u5728\u201cChristian News\u201d\u4e2d","block_context":{"text":"Christian News","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/category\/christian-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1722978050_Jimmy_Lai_FXM_interview.png?fit=900%2C600&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1722978050_Jimmy_Lai_FXM_interview.png?fit=900%2C600&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1722978050_Jimmy_Lai_FXM_interview.png?fit=900%2C600&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/1722978050_Jimmy_Lai_FXM_interview.png?fit=900%2C600&quality=69&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":79246,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/zh\/learn\/prominent-hong-kong-catholic-wins-appeal-but-remains-behind-bars\/","url_meta":{"origin":77454,"position":4},"title":"Prominent Hong Kong Catholic Wins Appeal but Remains Behind Bars","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"17 3 \u6708, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy media mogul and well-known Catholic layperson from Hong Kong, won an appeal this week against a 2022 fraud conviction for which he had been serving a six-year sentence. 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