Canada Condemns Hong Kongs Conviction of Democracy Activist Jimmy Lai

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, looks on as he leaves the Court of Final Appeal by prison van, in Hong Kong, on Feb. 1, 2021. Tyrone Siu/ReutersThe Canadian government has condemned Hong Kong’s conviction of pro-democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, describing it as a sign of the city’s deteriorating human rights situation and calling for his immediate release.Lai, 78, was convicted on Dec. 15 in a national security trial on all three charges against him: two counts of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under the Beijing-imposed national security law, and one count of “sedition” under a colonial-era sedition law. He is the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, and a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).