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Jimmy lai sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security offenses Chief Executive John Lee says lai deserves a 20 year prison term and Thailand votes to rewrite its constitution.

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Nick's Digital founder Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after being convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.

Eight other convicted senior executives of the now shuttered Apple Daily and activists received prison terms of up to 10 years.

We begin our coverage tonight with a court sign sentencing judgment A landmark case marking the first trial under Hong Kong's National Security Law involving collusion with foreign forces, which took more than two years to proceed in courts.

Former media mogul Jimmy Lai's 20 year prison sentence handed down at the West Kowloon Court also marks the longest prison term since the law came into effect.

Lai was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

The court considered 10 factors when determining the sentencing, including the context, such as society's atmosphere, the modus operandi meaning the ways acts, wording, media or platform adopted, the frequency and duration of the offense, whether it was premeditated and whether violence was involved, as well as the targets and impacts.

Determining that the offenses were of a grave nature, the judges said the penalty should not be below 10 years.

The court said the conspiracies were not only well planned, but

were premeditated and involved the use of online platforms reaching both local an overseas audience.

It said the call for sanctions or blockade and engaging in hostile activities, both overt and subtle, did contribute to foreign governments imposing those against the Hong Kong government and the PRC.

The court adopted a starting point of 15 years imprisonment and noting that Lai is considered a mastermind and driving force, the provisional sentence is raised to 18 years for the conspiracy to publish seditious material.

The court considered multiple articles involved both in print and online, the number of participants and duration of offenses resulting in a 23 month sentence.

Having considered the mitigation, the court accepted that the combination of Lai's old age, health condition and solitary confinement would cause his prison life to be more burdensome than that of other inmates.

The court deducted the sentence by one year and one month.

Apart from announcing penalties for Lai, the remaining eight defendants, including six former senior executives of the now shuttered Apple Daily and two activists, were also given sentencing ranging from 6 years and 3 months to 10 years.

Meanwhile, three connected Apple Daily companies were each fined $3,004,500.

The court revealed that the three companies have declared bankruptcy.

However, after considering the totality of evidence, the court found that none of the accomplice witnesses fell within the category of a super informant or a super grass, referring to the insider criminal witness who turns against their associates and gives extensive or high value evidence to police who may receive reduced prison time.

There were reactions on Jimmy Lai's sentence both locally and from abroad.

Hundreds gathered outside the court this morning waiting for news on the sentencing of the 78 year old former media mogul Lai's wife Theresa and Joseph Zen, retired cardinal of the Catholic Church, left the court without speaking to the press.

In a statement issued by Lai's children, Sebastian Lai described the ruling as devastating for their family, while Claire Lai called it a heartbreakingly cruel sentence.

A number of representatives from different consulates arrived before 9am including those from the European Union, the United States and the uk what we're looking for is a positive resolution in due course.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper issued a statement calling for an end to Lai's ordeal.

The European Union also reiterated its call for the release of the 78 year old in consideration of his advanced age and health condition.

Meanwhile, the National Security Department of the Force welcomed the court's imposition of a hefty sentence on Lt.

Obviously he has done nothing good for Hong Kong that could serve as a bias of a basis for his mitigations.

I personally I think that the sentences are what the to the defendants.

I think it's appropriate at this level from my point of view, but

I have to discuss them with my colleagues in the Department of Justice to say whether we needed to appeal to for the when asked if the 78 year old would die in custody, Lee remarked that only got no's, noting he had received appropriate medical treatment and his solitary confinement was based on his own application to the Correctional Services Department.

Chief Executive John Lee said the severe sentence on light brought great relief to all, describing what Light did as heinous and evil beyond measure.

The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council welcomed the hefty sentence, warning that anyone who attempts to challenge the law will be heavily punished.

Beijing's Liaison Office in Hong Kong stated the 20 year sentence fully demonstrates judicial fairness.

Ron Yitong, a member of the Executive Council, believes the sentencing was reasonable considering that Lai was an influential figure.

he also is the controller of a relatively popular newspaper and a media empire.

He also has a personal relationship with some high ranking officials and politicians in the United States.

If he used that power to persuade other political power in the world to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong.

It would cause tremendous harm to the national and local interests.

General Jimmy Lai began his career in the garment factory before expanding into media, where his outlet's reporting style often sparked controversy.

Here's a look at the former media mogul's life before jail.

Born in Guangzhou, Lai came to Hong Kong at the age of 12 and worked as a child laborer in a textile factory.

By the age of 27, he had established his own factory.

When I was young, I felt I had a chance to succeed and make money, lai recalled.

He made his first fortune through stock trading and in the 1980s founded the Jordano clothing chain.

Lie said at the time served as itself as part of what we sell.

During the Tiananmen Square incident in 1989, Giordano saw t shirts printed with political Slaves slogans.

Later, Lai gradually exited the clothing business and shifted to media, founding Nick's magazine and Apple Daily.

The first time I came to see it, it felt like seeing a child being born.

Lai reflected on its early media ventures.

Apple Daily used color printing and aggressive pricing with content that sometimes leaned towards sensationalism and explicit material.

This strategy allowed it to successfully capture market share, influenced the media landscape and later expanded to Taiwan.

However, its reporting methods repeatedly drew criticism.

Apple Daily reportedly paid $5,000 to a subject of a tragic family incident in order to secure an interview, raising questions about the practice of paying to get headlines.

The paper was said to repeatedly photograph celebrities and in private moments, including backstage changing areas.

Lai later admitted that he regretted the practice.

Despite controversies, Apple Daily also exposed political misconduct, such as allegations against Gary Cheng of abuse of power and the then financial secretary Anthony Ler's financial scandal in early 2003, revealing that he had bought an expensive car shortly before imposing a new new car tax.

Lai has long been politically active, participating in marches and rallies, and

Apple Daily often encouraged readers to join street demonstrations.

Regarding claims that he funded the Democratic Party, Lai initially denied it.

However, documents later revealed that over the years Lai had donated at least $50 million to pan Democratic figures and parties such as the Democratic Party and Civic Party.

He later admitted to political donations but denied intending to disrupt Hong Kong.

He was also accused of spending millions on the so called Occupy Central movement and meeting with Taiwanese politicians to discuss the political move.

During the 2019 anti extradition protests, Apple Daily distributed yellow umbrellas to citizens and Lai reportedly helped lead marches.

That same year, he visited the United States and met with then US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The Commissioner's Office of Beijing's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong slammed Lai without naming him, accusing him of willingly acting as a tool of foreign forces to oppose China and disrupt Hong Kong, labeling him as a national traitor.

Voters in Thailand's general election overwhelmingly voted for a referendum calling for a new constitution to replace a 2017 charter.

The referendum is the outcome of a decades long struggle between the pro military royalist establishment and popular democratic political movements.

The referendum drew 60% support and 32% against, the election commission reported after 94% of the polling stations were counted.

These backing change, say the current military backed charter entrenches unelected power, weakening democratic checks and civil liberties.

The majority yes vote gives Parliament a public mandate to begin drafting a new national charter which would replace the current 2017 constitution, which was drafted by a military appointed committee following a 2014 coup.

However, Thailand's history shows that constitutional moments often trigger backlash from entrenched elites, raising the risk of renewed political instability.

Thailand's Bumje Thai Party has emerged as the largest party in the country's House of Representatives, according to preliminary results released by the country's election commission.

With 94% of the vote counted so far, the Bumjai Thai Party captured 195 seats while the People's Party and the puotai party ranked second and third respectively with 118 and 74 seats.

Tracy Furness has more the Bunjai Thai Party of Prime Minister Anu Thin Chan Barakal took a commanding lead in Thailand's general election Sunday.

At this moment, our people have given us more than what we expected this morning, so we owe our voters a fortune and we will only repay them by working at our utmost to bring all the good things to them and to our country.

On the Election Commission's website just before midnight, it showed the conservative Bunje Thai party had attained 195 seats in the 500 member House of Representatives.

The numbers were still not clear as to whether the Bun Jai Thai Party would have to seek partners in a coalition government.

The Progressive People's Party, which had been tipped to win the most seats, was holding down second place with around 118 seats.

The party is the successor of the Move Forward Party, which won the most seats in the house in 2023.

It was blocked from forming a government by conservative lawmakers and then forced to dissolve.

The party acknowledged this time round they wouldn't come first and said it would respect the results.

We are so quite sure that we cannot win this election with respect to the parliamentary system that we have to allow the winner to form the government first.

Butai, the populist party representing political machine of former Prime Minister Taksin Shinawat, followed behind with 78 seats.

The 500 member house comprises 400 lawmakers directly elected based on constituencies, while 100 others are chosen from party list nominees who gain seats according to each party's proportional share of the vote on a separate ballot indicating party preference.

The battle for support from 53 million registered voters came against the backdrop of slow economic growth and heightened nationalist sentiment.

Tracey Furness, TVB News and still ahead, Japan's Liberal Democrat scores a massive win in the lower house elections.

Keir Starmer's chief of staff resigns over his Mendelssohn recommendation and fire services officials bust a legal filling station.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's governing party secured a 2/3 supermajority in parliamentary elections.

The landslide victory allows her to pursue a successful, significant conservative shift in Japan's security, immigration and other policies.

Nan Yu Rao tells us more nhk, citing results of vote counts, said Japanese Prime Minister Senai Tokichi's Liberal Democratic party alone secured 316 seats by early Monday.

That comfortably beats a 261 seat absolute majority in the 465 member lower house, the more powerful of Japan's two chamber parliament.

This marks a record since the party's foundation in 1955 and surpasses the previous record of 300 seats won in 1986 by late Japanese Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone.

With 36 seats won by its new ally, Japan Innovation Party, Takechi's ruling coalition has won 352 seats.

In a televised interview following her victory, Takechi said she'll emphasize policies meant to make Japan strong and prosperous.