[자막뉴스] 종말 드리운 홍콩...반중인사에 사상 최대 형량 / YTN

A Hong Kong courthouse where the sentencing hearing for anti-China journalist Jimmy Lai took place. Following Lai's wife and Cardinal Joseph Zen, diplomats from the United States and Europe also entered to observe. The court found Lai, 78, guilty on all three charges of violating the National Security Law and sentenced him to 20 years in prison. This is the maximum sentence imposed under the Hong Kong National Security Law. [Sam Ho / Hong Kong citizen: The situation in Hong Kong is as gray and clouded as the weather today. Apple Daily was the only media outlet that conveyed the voices of Hong Kongers.] Jimmy Lai, founder of the clothing company Giordano and founder of Apple Daily in 1995, was arrested and indicted in 2020 on charges of violating the Hong Kong National Security Law. He allegedly used his international connections to lobby for sanctions against China and Hong Kong and incited pro-democracy protests through media reports. [Steve Lee / Hong Kong Police National Security Bureau: No one knows whether Jimmy Lai will spend the rest of his life in prison; only heaven knows. However, what we can say for sure is that he received a just sentence.] Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International criticized the ruling, saying it "brings the curtain down on press freedom in Hong Kong." US President Trump, who met with President Xi Jinping in Gyeongju last year, and British Prime Minister Starmer, who visited China last month, also called for Lai's release. Following the ruling, Western countries have issued a series of condemnatory statements. However, the Chinese government has drawn a line, saying that this is a just punishment in accordance with the rule of law and has urged foreign governments and institutions to refrain from interfering. This is Kwon Jun-ki from YTN. Video Editing | Kim Ji-yeon Subtitle News | Lee Sun #YTNSubtitle News [Copyrights (c) YTN. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use of AI data prohibited]