The Big Lai: Hong Kong Media Titan Gets 20 Year Prison Sentence for Truth-Telling
Before the world shrugs and moves on, Jan Jekielek, author of Killed to Order, Casey Fleming, CEO and counterintelligence executive with Black Ops Partners and author of The Red Tsunami, and Joshua Philipp, senior investigative reporter for The Epoch Times, are uniquely positioned to expose what Jimmy Lai’s 20-year sentence really represents: raw political vengeance. This is not justice—it is a calculated act of state terror by the Chinese Communist Party against a 78-year-old publisher whose real crime was refusing to submit. Lai’s punishment is meant to echo far beyond his prison walls, chilling journalists, businessmen, and dissidents worldwide into silence through fear.
Monday’s news that Jimmy Lai—a 78-year-old media innovator, human rights advocate, and one of Beijing’s most persistent critics—was sentenced to 20 years in prison is not just headline news; it’s a stark message from the Chinese Communist Party to the world. Order Jekielek’s New Book, Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary
Lai wasn’t convicted of theft, embezzlement or violent crime. He was convicted under Hong Kong’s National Security Law of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” and publishing “seditious materials”—essentially criminalizing journalism and dissent.
At 78, with years already spent in custody and documented health struggles, a 20-year sentence amounts to a life sentence in all but name. His own son has described it as akin to a “death sentence.”
Order Fleming’s new Book, The Red Tsunami: The Silent Storm Killing Your Freedom
CLICK HERE TO WATCH A TELEVISION INTERVIEW CLIP WITH CASEY FLEMING
CCP Prison a Torture Chamber
And make no mistake: this is not a law-abiding prison sentence in a democratic system that respects rule of law. This is punishment in a system where the judiciary has been co-opted by the Party, security laws have been weaponized to silence critics, and dissent has been systematically crushed. The prison ahead for Lai will be harsh and unforgiving—not a comfortable cell with regular appeals or parole.
That Lai is a billionaire, a British citizen, and the head of what was once Hong Kong’s most vibrant pro-democracy newspaper only highlights how far Beijing has gone to signal its hold over the city. Apple Daily was shuttered after repeated raids, arrests of staff, and the freezing of its assets—well over four years ago.
This sentence is a warning shot to anyone, inside China or out, who dares to oppose the regime—not just journalists, but activists, business leaders, and foreign partners. The 2020 National Security Law was always intended to intimidate; this is the clearest demonstration yet that no dissent will be tolerated.
For viewers who care about freedom of speech, human rights, and the survival of independent media, this case is an urgent call to pay attention. Beijing isn’t just jailing a critic—it’s consigning what was once Asia’s freest press to history and warning the rest of the world what resistance looks like under Xi Jinping.
Relevant Article(s)
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison after landmark national security trial | CNN
OPTIONAL Q&A:
- What does Jimmy Lai’s 20-year sentence tell us about how the CCP now defines “crime” in Hong Kong?
- Why would Beijing feel compelled to make an example out of a 78-year-old publisher instead of simply silencing him quietly?
- How does this sentence function as a warning not just to journalists, but to business leaders and foreign critics worldwide?
- What does Lai’s case reveal about the true purpose of Hong Kong’s National Security Law?
- How different is the reality of a Chinese prison from the way Western audiences often imagine incarceration?
- Why should Americans view this case as relevant to U.S. national security and not just human rights?
- What message does this send to other billionaires or elites who believe wealth or status offers protection from the CCP?
- If the world responds weakly to Jimmy Lai’s sentence, what precedent does that set for future crackdowns on dissent?
ABOUT JOSHUA PHILIPP…
Joshua Philipp is an award-winning journalist and Senior Investigative Reporter at The Epoch Times. He is the host of ‘Crossroads,’ a news and analysis program on EpochTV. His works have included breakthrough investigations into the origins of Covid-19 and the Wuhan laboratory in the early days of the pandemic. He spearheaded the first documentary on the lab leak origins of the COVID-19 virus, released in April 2020. This groundbreaking documentary garnered over 75 million views, and while many tried to label it misinformation, its findings have since been vindicated by the White House and US intelligence agencies.
ABOUT NAN SU…
Nan Su is currently a Senior Reporter for the Epoch Times, a New York-based newspaper published in 36 countries and 22 languages. Mr. Su’s focus has been subjects related to China.
Born and raised in China, Mr. Nan Su came to the United States in 1989. Since 2003, he has served as a news commentator for the SOH International Chinese Radio Network and NTD International TV Network, focusing on news related to China. Over the past two decades, Mr. Su has delivered numerous speeches at public events on a wide range of China-related topics.
As an expert on China, Mr. Su’s work has covered extensively on subjects such as the threat of CCP’s global expansion, the security of Taiwan and Taiwan Strait, CCP’s human rights abuses in China, China’s economy, traditional Chinese culture before communism, forced organ harvesting in China, and the struggle for freedom in Hong Kong.
ABOUT CASEY FLEMING…
Casey Fleming is a nationally recognized expert in counterintelligence, national security investigations, and strategic risk. He is the CEO of BlackOps Partners Corporation, where he advises government agencies and private organizations on identifying hidden threats, managing sensitive investigations, and navigating high-stakes security events.
Fleming has worked closely with the Department of Justice, FBI, Pentagon, National Counterintelligence and Security Center, and other federal entities, bringing deep experience in how complex investigations are structured, communicated, and resolved. He is frequently called upon to explain investigative process, evidence thresholds, and public-messaging constraints in cases involving national attention and sensitive facts.
A former executive with Deloitte Consulting and IBM Security, Fleming is also an expert witness in matters of counterintelligence and strategic risk.
ABOUT JAN JEKIELEK…
Jan Jekielek is senior editor with The Epoch Times, host of the show “American Thought Leaders” and was co-host of “FALLOUT” with Dr. Robert Malone and “Kash’s Corner” with now FBI Director Kash Patel. Years ago, Jan studied the evolutionary biology of lemurs in Madagascar, and his life took an unexpected turn. Exposed to the realities of human rights violations in China, he ended up working with an underground railroad bringing Chinese dissidents through the Golden Triangle to Bangkok and ultimately to Western countries. It was then that he realized that telling unknown heroes’ stories was transformative, both for him and audiences.
Determined to tell true stories, Jan started working with The Epoch Times 20 years ago, at a time when popular narratives in the West hid the dark underbelly of communist China. He did some of the earliest reporting on the Chinese regime’s continuing practice of forced organ harvesting from prisoners of conscience, and he’s the author of the upcoming book, “Killed to Order: China’s Organ Harvesting Industry and the True Nature of America’s Biggest Adversary.”
Over the last five years, he has interviewed over a thousand thought leaders on camera, including heads of state, multiple U.S. cabinet secretaries and agency heads, and congressional members.
Jan specializes in long-form discussions that challenge assumptions. He’s also an award-winning documentary filmmaker, producing “DeSantis: Florida vs. Lockdowns,” “The Unseen Crisis: Vaccine Stories You Were Never Told,” and the “optimistic” Holocaust documentary “Finding Manny.”
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