Secretary of State Rubio [Reuters=Yonhap News 

The U.S. Trump administration on the 9th (local time) criticized the 20-year prison sentence handed down to anti-China journalist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong for violating the National Security Law, calling it an "unjust and tragic conclusion."

In a statement released today, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, "This demonstrates to the international community that Beijing (the Chinese government) is willing to go to extreme measures to silence those who defend fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, abandoning its international commitments in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration."

The Joint Declaration, signed by the United Kingdom and China in 1984 (the Hong Kong handover agreement), stipulates that Hong Kong will maintain a high degree of autonomy and the "One Country, Two Systems" principle for 50 years until 2047, after its return to China.

Secretary Rubio added, "Mr. Lai and his family have already suffered enough, enduring two years of trial and over five years of detention." He continued, "The United States urges (Chinese) authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole."

Jimmy Lai is the founder and owner of Apple Daily, a prominent anti-China media outlet in Hong Kong. He was arrested in August 2020, shortly after the implementation of the Hong Kong National Security Law.

Today, a Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison for three violations of the National Security Law, including conspiracy with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials, for which he was found guilty in December of last year.

This is the longest sentence handed down for violations of the National Security Law since the Chinese government enacted and implemented it in June 2020.

Jimmy Lai [Chung Shin Daily capture]