Lai, who was born in mainland China, fled to Hong Kong when he was 12 years old and got his footing as a businessman after founding the international clothing brand Giordano.
His journey as a democracy activist began after China brutally crushed pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
Lai started writing columns criticising the massacre and went on to launch a string of popular pro-democracy publications, including Apple Daily and Next.
Even now, many Hong Kongers see him as a leading voice for democracy – about 80 people had queued to enter the court ahead of the verdict on Monday.
One of them was Ms Lam who didn’t want to share her full name. An apple in hand, she said she started queuing around 11:00 local time on Sunday – nearly a full day before the session – because dozens of people had come before her. It was a cold night, she said, but she did it because she had wanted to wish Lai good luck.
“We all feel frustrated and powerless. Yet, there must be an ending to the whole issue and time comes when it comes,” a former Apple Daily journalist, who was also in court, told the BBC.
“Jimmy always said that he was indebted to Hong Kong… but I think Hong Kong and most Hong Kongers are so grateful to have him upholding the core values, good faith and integrity for the community at the expense of his well being and personal freedom.”
In his testimony, Lai had said that he had “never allowed” his newspaper’s staff to advocate for Hong Kong independence, which he described as a “conspiracy” and “too crazy to think about”.
“The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong,” he had said. These values, he added, include the “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly”.
