HONG KONG: Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon and pro-democracy campaigner, was found guilty on December 15 of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in the city's highest-profile trial.

Under a China-imposed national security law,  Lai could spend the rest of his life in jail.

Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and one of the most prominent critics of China's Communist Party leadership, has already spent five years in jail under legislation that Beijing enacted in response to the 2019 protests.

Hong Kong's judicial independence has come under intense international scrutiny ever since this case came to court. It comes amid a years-long crackdown on rights and freedoms in the global financial hub after 2019 pro-democracy protests challenged Beijing's rule.

While 78-year-old Lai's supporters call him a freedom fighter, Beijing regards him as a mastermind of the protests and accused him of advocating for U.S. sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland.

"There is no doubt" that Lai had harboured his resentment and hatred of China for many of his adult years, Judge Esther Toh told a packed courtroom as the tycoon sat with his arms folded.

The two other judges in his case were Alex Lee and Susana D'Almada Remedios.

Lai can plead for leniency at a pre-sentencing hearing on January 12. His lawyer, Steven Kwan, said Lai would decide on an appeal after the sentencing.

Hong Kong leader John Lee and national security police chief Steve Li told reporters they welcomed the verdict.

Lai was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He had denied all charges.

The verdict was delivered in a year that has seen Hong Kong's democratic opposition largely disappear under pressure from Beijing. The Democratic Party voted to disband on December 14.

Lai's trial began in December 2023, and the verdict is seen as a potential new diplomatic flashpoint in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

U.S. President Donald Trump raised Lai's case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting in October and has said he would do everything possible to "save" Lai.

"I feel so badly," Trump said at the White House when asked about the conviction.

The British government condemned what it described as a "politically motivated prosecution" and called for Lai's immediate release. The country is seeking stronger economic ties with Beijing.

China's foreign ministry criticised Britain, Australia, the United States, and Germany for smearing Hong Kong's justice system. The Chinese embassy in London accused Britain of "blatantly" interfering in China's affairs, saying its colonial era was over and it had no right to "point fingers."

Lai's son, Sebastien, said the conviction showed how Beijing had weaponised the national security law. Speaking to Reuters in London, he said countries such as Britain should make his father's release a condition of closer ties with China.

Asked about a possible visit by Prime Minister Keir Starmer to China next year, he said his message would be: "Bring my father back."