By Jessie Pang, ‌James Pomfret and Angie Teo

HONG KONG/TAIPEI, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Several former colleagues of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai at the Apple Daily newspaper reacted with dismay at his ‍national security ‌conviction, fearing Lai and other former staffers may be given a heavy sentence but saying he remains an inspiration.

Lai's guilty verdict for two conspiracies to collude with foreign forces ⁠to undermine China's national security, and a sedition charge, comes over four years after police ‌raided the Apple Daily newsroom, arresting Lai along with several senior editors and executives, leading to its eventual closure.

"Although it's an expected verdict, when the news came out the feeling of 'finally it's here' hit us," said Edward Li, Apple Daily's former chief breaking-news editor. He left Hong Kong first for London and then Taiwan where he merged two media outlets - Taiwan-based Photon Media and UK-based The Chaser News - to establish ⁠Pulse HK, which focuses on Hong Kong news.

"What I and some of my former colleagues of Apple Daily were expecting (was) this outcome, but what we care the most about is the sentence. Will it be 10, 15 years ​as predicted?"

WATERSHED SHUTDOWN

The closure of Apple Daily, long known for its critical independent reporting - was a watershed for ‌Hong Kong media, casting a chilling effect as more newsrooms toned down coverage to ⁠mitigate the risk of reprisals under a national security law imposed by China in 2020 in response to mass protests.

Many Apple Daily journalists were forced to leave the industry altogether, with jobs harder to find as the national security law crackdown intensified to shutter other liberal media outlets and increasingly curb free speech.

"Everyone is operating under very ​challenging circumstances. That's why we left — because we didn't want these absurd situations to affect our journalism profession," said Shirley Leung, another Apple Daily reporter who now runs Pulse HK in Taiwan with Li and other veteran journalists from Hong Kong.

Two other popular and liberal media outlets, Stand News and Citizens News, closed in late 2021 and 2022 respectively.

Six former senior Apple Daily staffers, including two former editors, Ryan Law and Chan Pui-man, now stand accused of working together with Lai to seek foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese authorities - ​a crime under ‍the security law.

These staffers pleaded guilty and will be ​sentenced alongside Lai following mitigation hearings in mid-January.

"After this case, we realized that even if you're not advocating anything - just reporting something - it could still be considered a violation," Li said.

In Lai's trial, the prosecution cited 161 Apple Daily articles it deemed seditious and "impugned content", including those on the 2019 protests and national security law - with police not ruling out making further arrests going forward.

'VAGUE' SECURITY LAW

"Right now, things are so vague that it’s hard to follow. That in itself violates legal principles - the law should provide clear guidance so people know what’s allowed and what isn't," Leung said.

After Apple and other independent media outlets shut down, some reporters joined the U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) and Voice of America (VOA), while others set up independent media platforms ⁠locally and in the UK, Canada and Taiwan.

But with the massive funding cuts by the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, sweeping layoffs of Cantonese language teams at RFA and VOA have meant fewer Hong Kong media voices from abroad.

Hong Kong's press freedom rankings ​meanwhile have plunged to 140th in the world under the national security clampdown, according to media advocacy group, RFA.

Hong Kong authorities say press and speech freedoms are enshrined under the law.

Despite the financial struggles of diaspora media outlets, and difficulties in crowd-funding given national security risks, these journalists remain determined, often taking part-time jobs or running side businesses to make ends meet.

"Journalism has always been the fourth pillar of the government, meant to monitor the government, support the vulnerable, and voice out ‌for the citizens," Li said.

"Not only does Hong Kong no longer have Apple Daily; Hong Kong no longer has a strong voice to criticise and monitor the government..., which is why we feel the need to fill that role."

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret in Hong Kong; Angie Teo and Yi-Chin Lee in Taipei; Editing by Greg Torode and Mark Heinrich)