Taipei: Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Monday "strongly condemned" what it called the "political persecution" by Chinese authorities after Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison under the Hong Kong National Security Law (HKNSL).

According to Focus Taiwan, MAC issued a statement denouncing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Hong Kong government for allegedly using national security as a pretext to suppress freedom and human rights. As Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-Taiwan Strait affairs, MAC urged the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to halt the political persecution and immediately release Lai.

MAC's reaction followed the Hong Kong High Court's sentencing of the 78-year-old Lai to 20 years in prison, marking the longest sentence handed down under the HKNSL since its implementation in the former British colony on June 30, 2020. The sentence stemmed from a High Court ruling on December 15 of the previous year that found Lai guilty on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the HKNSL, and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials under the Crimes Ordinance, a colonial-era law.

Lai, a longtime critic of Beijing and seen by supporters as a pro-democracy activist, founded Apple Daily in Hong Kong in 1995 and later launched a sister publication in Taiwan in 2003. The Hong Kong newspaper, known for its pro-democracy stance, was forced to close in June 2021 after authorities froze its assets and arrested senior staff. The Taiwan edition ceased operations in August 2022 due to organizational challenges.

Highlighting what it described as Hong Kong's "painful experience," MAC urged the public in Taiwan to safeguard their "hard-won freedoms" and called on the international community to remain vigilant to Beijing's erosion of human rights and to support Taiwan in "defending the democratic front line."

International groups also criticized the sentencing. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the jail terms given to Lai and six former Apple Daily executives on Monday, which ranged from six years and nine months to 10 years. RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin stated that the court decision underscored the collapse of press freedom in Hong Kong and the authorities' contempt for independent journalism.

Bruttin called on democratic countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States to pressure Chinese authorities to release Lai, a British citizen, and other jailed journalists, warning that Lai's 20-year prison term "must not become a death sentence."