Officials had cast Mr. Lai, a pro-democracy media tycoon, as the mastermind of protests that roiled the city in 2019. He could face life in prison.

Britain should make pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai's release a condition of establishing closer relations with China, Lai's son Sebastien said on Monday after his father was found guilty of sedition and collusion by Hong Kong's High Court.

Mr Lai’s case looks likely to establish new precedents both legally and socially. The party’s control centres on a national-security law ( NSL ). It was promulgated by the national parliament in Beijing in 2020 in the wake of the unrest in Hong Kong the year before.

He attributed his rags-to-riches ascent to the freedoms of Hong Kong, and has paid a hefty price for defending them.