A Hong Kong court found pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty of sedition and colluding with foreign forces in a landmark national security trial on Monday morning local time.
The big picture: The founder of Hong Kong's now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and critic of China's ruling Communist Party was charged in 2020 after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the Asian financial hub in response to pro-democracy protests a year earlier.
- Lai has been detained since 2020 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison after a three-judge panel convicted him on charges of colluding with foreign forces and sedition.
What we're watching: President Trump has said he'll do "everything" he can "to save" Lai and pledged to raise the plight of the 78-year-old British citizen at his October meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
- The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, a U.S.-registered nonprofit established in response to Beijing's national security crackdown, in a statement called the charges "trumped-up" and urged the Trump administration to "immediately impose measures" to hold Hong Kong and Chinese officials "accountable."
- Representatives for the White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Axios' Sunday evening request for comment.
Flashback: Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai convicted of fraud
Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.
