All posts tagged: Lai

Trump puts Taiwan arms sales, Jimmy Lai on agenda with Xi meeting

Trump puts Taiwan arms sales, Jimmy Lai on agenda with Xi meeting

Published by Sam Flores

US President Donald Trump speaks during a maternal healthcare event in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, May 11, 2026. Aaron Schwartz | Bloomberg | Getty Images President Donald Trump said Monday that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and the imprisonment of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai would be on his agenda for the Beijing summit later this week. Washington’s arms sales to Taiwan have been a flashpoint between the two countries, drawing a sharp response from Beijing that has accused the U.S. of violating the “one-China principle,” and warned that attempts to “contain China” via Taipei were set to fail. When asked about Washington’s longstanding support for Taiwan’s defense, Trump said Monday that, “I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi.” “President Xi would like us not to, and I’ll have that discussion. That’s one of the many things I’ll be talking about.” That comes after Beijing reportedly pressed the Trump administration to scale back its security commitments for the island. Trump is expected to …

Taiwan’s Lai lands in Eswatini in a trip delayed by lack of overflight clearance : NPR

Taiwan’s Lai lands in Eswatini in a trip delayed by lack of overflight clearance : NPR

Published by Sam Flores

FILE – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te delivers a speech as he inspects Taiwanese reservists participating in reserve military training in Ilan County, Eastern Taiwan, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. ChiangYing-ying/AP hide caption toggle caption ChiangYing-ying/AP TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te said he arrived in the African nation of Eswatini on Saturday, days after his government was forced to push back the trip when several countries withdrew permission for him to fly over their territories reportedly over Chinese pressure. In a post on X, Lai said he arrived in Eswatini — Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa — to “affirm our longstanding friendship.” He said that Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers part of its territory, “will never be deterred by external pressures.” Lai was originally scheduled to visit the southern African country from April 22, but Taiwanese officials said that flight permits were revoked by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar over “strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.” In a separate Facebook post on Saturday, Lai wrote that the visit was made …

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal conviction, 20-year term, lawyer says

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal conviction, 20-year term, lawyer says

Published by Sam Flores

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai will not appeal against his conviction and 20-year jail term for collusion with foreign forces and sedition, his lawyer said on Friday (Mar 6), in a landmark case that has sparked international criticism. The founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, Lai, 78, was one of the most outspoken critics of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. A nearly five-year legal saga ended with his sentencing in February following a December conviction on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials. A member of Lai’s domestic legal team told Reuters his client would not appeal the conviction and sentencing, which drew criticism from countries such as Britain and the United States. “We can confirm we have clear and definitive instructions not to lodge an appeal against conviction or sentence,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity, but gave no reason for the decision. Separately, Fung Wai-kong, the former editor-in-chief of the paper’s English news section, launched an appeal on Monday against …

China Summons Western Envoys in Hong Kong Over Jimmy Lai Sentencing Criticism

China Summons Western Envoys in Hong Kong Over Jimmy Lai Sentencing Criticism

Published by Sam Flores

BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) – ⁠China’s ⁠foreign ministry ⁠commissioner’s office in Hong ​Kong said on Saturday it ‌had summoned the ‌heads of ⁠the ⁠UK, U.S., Australian and European Union missions ​over their officials’ negative comments on Jimmy Lai’s ​sentencing. The office said it expressed “strong ⁠dissatisfaction and ⁠firm opposition” ⁠and urged ​those governments to respect China’s ​sovereignty and ⁠Hong Kong’s rule of law, stop “irresponsible” remarks on national security ⁠cases and cease interfering in Hong Kong and ⁠China’s internal affairs. Earlier this month, a Hong Kong court sentenced Lai, a prominent China critic and former media tycoon, to 20 years in ⁠prison in a landmark foreign‑collusion case under the city’s national security law. (Reporting by ​Beijing newsroom; Editing by ​Lincoln Feast.) Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters. Photos You Should See – Feb. 2026 Source link

China lashes out at UK expansion of visa scheme following Jimmy Lai conviction

China lashes out at UK expansion of visa scheme following Jimmy Lai conviction

Published by Sam Flores

Sebastian Lai, son of Jimmy Lai speaks during a press conference outside Downing street in London on Sept. 15, 2025. Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images China’s embassy in London Tuesday criticized the U.K.’s decision to expand a visa program for Hong Kong residents, calling the move an interference in its internal affairs after a court sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison under a national security law. The U.K. on Monday expanded the British National Overseas (BNO) visa scheme on Monday to allow children of BNO status holders — who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s handover to mainland China in June 1997 — to apply for the route independently of their parents. “BNO has misled Hong Kong residents to leave their homes, only to face discrimination and hardship in the U.K., living as second-class citizens,” an embassy spokesperson said in a statement in Chinese translated by CNBC. The embassy described the scheme expansion as “despicable” and “reprehensible.” “China has always firmly opposed the UK’s manipulation …

Rubio Slams ‘Unjust’ Jimmy Lai Sentence After Hong Kong Court Issues 20 Years

Rubio Slams ‘Unjust’ Jimmy Lai Sentence After Hong Kong Court Issues 20 Years

Published by Jenni Sidey

The high profile trial of Hong Kong’s foremost pro-democracy media tycoon wrapped up in December, whereupon Jimmy Lai was found guilty of sedition. He had long spearheaded huge protests and local Hong Kong media criticism of Beijing, but came under legal hot water and scrutiny with the passage of the notorious China-imposed national security law. Finally, on Monday he was handed a very harsh 20-year prison sentence, resulting in outrage and condemnations aimed at China from across the globe. This is effectively life in prison, or even a death sentence, for the 78-year old who also suffers various health problems. via AP/Al Jazeera: Jimmy Lai walks through the Stanley Prison in Hong Kong on July 28, 2023 This is after he’s already spent over five years in prison, and the trial alone lasted two years. He was first detained in August 2020 under Hong Kong’s Beijing-imposed national security law, in wake of large-scale student protests which at times brought whole sectors of the city to a standstill. The city’s High Court said in its ruling: “Having stepped back and taking …

Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison

Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison

Published by Sam Flores

Jimmy Lai arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court in May 2020. Picture: Shutterstock/Yung Chi Wai Derek Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been ordered to serve 20 years in prison, the harshest sentence given yet under a security law imposed by China. The 78-year-old British national was convicted in December of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. Lai, who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper which criticised the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing, was arrested in August 2020 and has been detained since December 2020. Prosecutors cited more than 160 Apple Daily articles as examples of “seditious publications”. Apple Daily was forced to close by Hong Kong authorities in June 2021. Six Apple Daily editors and executives, who were arrested in 2021 and later pleaded guilty, were also sentenced to between six and ten years in prison. Lai’s lawyer Robert Pang raised concerns about his health in January, saying he had suffered issues including heart palpitations, high blood pressure …

Hong Kong media baron and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison

Hong Kong media baron and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison

Published by Sam Flores

TOPSHOT – Media tycoon Jimmy Lai (R) is escorted into a Hong Kong Correctional Services van outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on February 1, 2021, after being ordered to remain in jail while judges consider his fresh bail application, the first major legal challenge to a sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on the city last year. Str | Afp | Getty Images Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai on Monday was sentenced to 20 years in prison in one of the most prominent prosecutions under a China-imposed national security law that has reshaped the city’s political landscape since 2020. “Having stepped back and taking a global view of the total sentence for Lai’s serious and grave criminal conduct … we are satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment,” the city’s High Court said in its ruling. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was convicted in December for collusion with foreign forces, endangering national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious materials. …