MEDIA tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison today for his role in instigating the anti-China violence that paralysed Hong Kong in 2019.

It came after the founder of the Apple Daily tabloid was found guilty in two separate trials for participating in unauthorised assemblies.

His sentencing, along with nine other activists, came under the region’s national security law, which aims to prevent sedition and collusion with foreign forces to intervene in Hong Kong’s internal affairs.

Often portrayed as a plucky opposition voice, Mr Lai met frequently with the previous US administration and had insisted that Donald Trump was “the only one” who could “save” Hong Kong.

Known as Asia’s Rupert Murdoch, he has used his fortune to bankroll violent opposition forces in Hong Kong in a bid to break from China.

Mr Lai also openly attacked the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests that took place around the world following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis last year.

Backing comments by the extreme far-right activist Avi Yemini, Mr Lai tweeted last June: “The riots in America are nothing like Hong Kong, and comparing the two is bloody disgraceful.”