Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has been convicted in Hong Kong of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials under Beijing’s sweeping national security law, after a marathon 156-day trial without a jury that supporters say criminalized journalism and peaceful advocacy for democracy while leaving him facing a possible life sentence following more than five years in custody.In a verdict delivered by three government-vetted judges, the court found that Lai and senior Apple Daily staff used critical reporting, editorials and high-profile meetings with overseas politicians, including former U.S. officials Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, to seek sanctions and other hostile measures against Hong Kong and China, citing 161 publications, social media posts and private messages as evidence of a conspiracy to endanger national security and incite sedition.The heavily policed hearing, attended by family members, former colleagues such as Tammy Cheung, religious figures including Cardinal Joseph Zen and ordinary residents who queued before dawn, has intensified concern in the United States, Britain and the European Union about Hong Kong’s eroding media freedom, judicial independence and the viability of the “one country, two systems” framework, while Western leaders including Donald Trump and Keir Starmer publicly raise Lai’s fate as a test of Beijing’s diplomatic ties and human rights commitments.