Jimmy Lai, the publisher of a popular tabloid, was convicted of national security charges on Monday after spending decades supporting the city’s vanquished pro-democracy movement.

© Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Jimmy Lai, the publisher of a popular tabloid, was convicted of national security charges on Monday after spending decades supporting the city’s vanquished pro-democracy movement.

The Hong Kong publisher’s fate will reveal whether democracies still have the resolve to defend their own values.

© Anthony Wallace/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Hong Kong publisher’s fate will reveal whether democracies still have the resolve to defend their own values.

The Hong Kong publisher’s fate will reveal whether democracies still have the resolve to defend their own values.

He attributed his rags-to-riches ascent to the freedoms of Hong Kong, and has paid a hefty price for defending them.

He attributed his rags-to-riches ascent to the freedoms of Hong Kong, and has paid a hefty price for defending them.

© Lam Yik Fei for The New York Times

Jimmy Lai, the publisher of a popular tabloid, has spent years fighting the landmark national security case brought over his support of the city’s now vanquished pro-democracy movement.

Jimmy Lai, the publisher of a popular tabloid, has spent years fighting the landmark national security case brought over his support of the city’s now vanquished pro-democracy movement.