London, Feb. 9, 2026 (Lusa) - The sentencing of pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong represents "a warning" to Macau, where local journalists risk facing similar pressures, the director-general of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) told Lusa on Monday.
Speaking to Agência Lusa in London, Thibaut Bruttin said that Jimmy Lai's case represents a turning point for both territories, describing it as "a frightening warning that repression in Hong Kong will inevitably spread to Macau," a former Portuguese territory under Beijing's administration since 1999.
"The fate of the two administrative regions is linked. Historically, Hong Kong had a freer and stronger press than Macao. But any sign of repression in Hong Kong has a chilling effect on Macao. The idea now is clearly to extend Beijing's dominance over both," he stressed.
Bruttin added that the case is also an omen of what could happen if China invades Taiwan.
Jimmy Lai, 78, founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was convicted under Hong Kong's National Security Law of "colluding with foreign forces" and "publishing seditious material".
The court, which cited more than 160 articles from Apple Daily as evidence, handed down the sentence today, two months after the guilty verdict was issued in December 2025.
Jimmy Lai's six co-defendants, senior editors and executives at Apple Daily, received prison sentences ranging from six to ten years.
Two other pro-democracy activists, Chan Tsz-wah and Andy Li, were also convicted, RSF said.
Bruttin considered the 20-year prison sentence imposed on Jimmy Lai to be "calculated" and designed to serve as an "example" to deter journalists.
"There was hope for some leniency, given Lai's age and health," he told Lusa, arguing, however, that "the message is clear: anyone who dares to question authority will face the same fate."
The RSF leader expressed hope that diplomatic efforts "behind the scenes" could influence Jimmy Lai's future, notably the intervention of US President Donald Trump, who recently announced that he intends to visit China in April, and European governments, particularly the UK and France.
Jimmy Lai is a British citizen and his case was recently discussed by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.
"We need to find a diplomatic solution," said Bruttin, who does not want the 20-year sentence "to become a death sentence for Jimmy Lai, as it did for [2010] Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo," who died in 2017.
At a press conference in London today, human rights lawyer Jonathan Price, a member of Jimmy Lai's international legal team, described the trial as "a three-year trial marked by delays and procedural injustice".
"The outcome was never in doubt, but a 20-year sentence for a 78-year-old man is tantamount to a death sentence," he lamented, warning that Hong Kong's reputation as a safe, rule-of-law jurisdiction has been destroyed.
For Price, Jimmy Lai "is currently the most famous political prisoner in the world" and, while he is in prison, "Hong Kong cannot, in good faith, promote itself as a rule of law and investment-friendly jurisdiction."
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Lusa
