Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday, February 9, 2026, under Beijing's national security law, a case that has spanned five years. The 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper was found guilty of two counts of foreign collusion and one count of seditious publication, according to Al Jazeera. The UK foreign secretary stated the sentence was "tantamount to a life sentence," as reported by Sky News.
Lai's arrest occurred in August 2020, following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong after China imposed the national security law, as noted by Sky News. The sentencing marks a significant development in the ongoing crackdown on pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong. Lai, also a British citizen, faced the charges after the closure of his newspaper.
The sentencing of Lai comes amidst other significant global events. According to NPR Politics, Japan's ruling party secured a supermajority in the country's lower house on Sunday, due largely to the popularity of its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi. Additionally, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy announced that the U.S. has set a June deadline for Kyiv and Moscow to end the war, as reported by NPR Politics.
In other news, SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed on his social network that the company is pivoting from the settlement of Mars to building a self-growing city on the Moon, as reported by Ars Technica. Musk cited the potential to achieve this in less than 10 years, compared to the 20 years needed for Mars.
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