A Hong Kong court sentenced the 78-year-old pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the wildly popular newspaper he founded, Apple Daily, used its pages to promote pro-democracy activism and encouraged foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China. It’s the harshest punishment so far doled out under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law.

Lai has long been a target of the Chinese ruling party because of his free-speech views. His daughter, Claire Lai, spoke with Here & Now’s Indira Lakshmanan, who also spoke with Claire Lai following her father’s conviction last year.

3 questions with Claire Lai

Tell us how you felt when you heard that your father, who’s nearly 80, was given a 20-year sentence. Some have called it a death sentence.

“It absolutely is a death sentence. I was absolutely heartbroken, and for a man who has done nothing wrong, I mean, all they’ve proven is that he is a man who loves God, loves freedom, and loves his family and truth is an essential element of that. And I do hope that now that he is sentenced, it will open the doors for diplomatic discussions for a political solution to be reached for his release.”

 And by that, you mean you’re referring to the U.S. and the UK governments. Your father is a British citizen. The government’s calling for your father’s release. What are you hoping for from them?

“So not just the UK and the U.S., but my father stood for values that I think are shared in many democracies. So I hope that many world leaders who have stood up for my father and called for his release continue to do so and do so forcefully.

“In the example of the UK, there is a clear indication that the UK wishes to be closer to China in its relationship. I’m not going to sit here and say that it shouldn’t be or whatever, but what I am going to say is that China has, in the past, breached its treaties with the UK. The Sino-British Joint Declaration is one, and with relations between sovereign, trust is an important element. And asking for a gesture of goodwill, which is releasing your citizen, should not be, who is in aging health and has done nothing wrong, should not be a big ask.”

Tell us about your father’s work.

“ My father, his first taste of freedom was in Hong Kong when he was working in the factories … And, you know, it’s filled with sweat, and it wasn’t until later that he recognized as freedom. But when he had his political awakening during the Tiananmen Square massacre and then … when his company was taken away, he was forced to sell his company, he decided to start a newspaper company, which became Apple Daily.”

This interview was edited for clarity.

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 Janaya Williams produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Michael Scotto. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web. 

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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