New Delhi, Dec. 15 -- A Hong Kong court convicted pro-democracy former media mogul Jimmy Lai of conspiracies to commit sedition and collusion with foreign forces in a case that marks how much the semi-autonomous Chinese city has changed since Beijing began a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent five years ago.

Lai, 78, was arrested in 2020 under a national security law imposed by Chinese authorities to quell the massive anti-government protests that rocked the city in 2019. He could face life in prison over the collusion charge.

Lai's 156-day trial has been closely watched by foreign governments and political observers as a test of judicial independence and media freedom in the former British colony, which was promised it could maintain it...