The former pro-democracy newspaper publisher was sentenced for offences under the controversial national security law.

Lai was convicted in December on charges related to national security.

Jimmy Lai's niece in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., says her uncle's 20-year sentence came as "heartbreaking" news for her family, especially her mother, Lai's twin sister.

Lai's supporters say this amounts to a death sentence, but authorities say it demonstrates the rule of law.

The sentencing of Hong Kong’s onetime media magnate Jimmy Lai is raising concerns from foreign governments and rights groups

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's most vocal China critic, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail, ending the city's biggest national security case which drew international concern about Beijing's clampdown on the city's freedoms and autonomy.

The diplomatic tensions came after pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in one of the city's most prominent prosecutions.

HONG KONG -- Prominent democracy advocate Jimmy Lai was a child stowaway from mainland China who rose to become Hong Kong’s onetime media magnate. Unlike other rags-to-riches tycoons who cultivated ties with Beijing, he chose to become its fierce critic.

By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Hong Kong's most prominent media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail on national security charges, including two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of publishing seditious materials.