12月15日，三名国安法官在一场历时156天的审讯（其中52天为作证）后，裁定黎智英“勾结外国势力”及“煽动罪”成立；他已被羁押超过1,800天，并可能在量刑时面临终身监禁。现年78岁且患有糖尿病的他为英国公民，2020年被捕，而《苹果日报》在其被捕后将近一年被迫停刊。

在香港，国安案件的定罪率超过95%，而法院长达855页的判词称其曾推动对华制裁，并在2020年《国安法》将相关行为定为犯罪后仍以“间接而隐蔽”的方式延续“国际游说”；去年通过的“23条立法”进一步加重国安罪行刑罚，两套制度均可在无陪审团下由指定法官审理。

更广泛的氛围包括：上月大埔一场大火吞噬七栋公寓楼，造成至少160人死亡，以及一场选举出现“史上第二低”投票率；12月6日警方传召约一打国际媒体机构代表，12月15日北京驻港机构又致函部分媒体强调“事实”，同时各国领导人在“明年初”计划访京与10月贸易休战的背景下权衡回应。

On December 15, three national-security judges convicted Jimmy Lai of foreign collusion and sedition after a 156-day trial (including 52 days of testimony); he has already spent more than 1,800 days in custody and could face life imprisonment at sentencing. The 78-year-old, who has diabetes, is a British citizen; he was arrested in 2020, and Apple Daily shut down almost a year after his arrest.

National-security cases in Hong Kong show a conviction rate above 95%, and the court’s 855-page judgment says Lai pushed for sanctions on China and kept “international lobbying” going by “indirect and subtle” means even after the 2020 national-security law made it a crime; “Article 23” legislation passed last year further tightened penalties, and trials under both regimes can proceed without juries before designated judges.

The wider climate features a Tai Po fire last month that consumed seven apartment blocks and killed at least 160 people, plus an election with the second-lowest turnout on record; on December 6 police summoned representatives of around a dozen international outlets, and on December 15 Beijing’s Hong Kong office sent letters urging “facts,” while foreign leaders weigh reactions amid planned Beijing visits early next year and an October trade-truce backdrop.

Source: Jimmy Lai’s judgment day

Subtitle: The tycoon’s conviction speaks to the state of Hong Kong’s civil liberties

Dateline: 12月 18, 2025 07:37 上午