Hong Kong magnate Jimmy Lai appears as a witness in a collusion prosecution
Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy Hong Kong businessman (pic), will appear in court for the first time on Wednesday (Nov. 20) in his collusion trial. He has been on trial five times in almost four years.
One of the most well-known cases under the national security law Beijing passed in 2020 is Lai’s. Rights groups and Western countries are calling for his freedom.
The 76-year-old founder of the now-shutdown tabloid Apple Daily faces a life-threatening charge of working with foreign forces.
The jailing of 45 democracy activists for subversion in the city’s biggest national security trial on Tuesday has already garnered significant attention to Hong Kong’s political freedoms. His evidence comes today.
Lai’s case primarily revolves around articles in his newspaper that supported large, sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019 and were critical of Beijing’s leadership.
An 80-year-old retiree called Liu told AFP that Lai “deserves our admiration” while standing outside the court on Wednesday in pouring rain.
“He has a lot of money. He could have left anytime, but he didn’t because he felt a responsibility,” said Liu.
Lai has been in jail since December 2020, and his health and the conditions of the jail have been a source of worry.
In his earlier cases, he was found guilty, including for planning and participating in marches during the 2019 democracy protests. He has never chosen to appear.He has repeatedly asked the US and other countries to punish China and Hong Kong with sanctions “or engage in other hostile activities.”
The case has been met with criticism, with both Hong Kong and Beijing claiming that Lai is “a voluntary political tool of foreign forces trying to restrain China through Hong Kong.”
The prosecution has said that Lai asked the US and other countries to punish China and Hong Kong with sanctions “or engage in other hostile activities” many times since the case began in January.
Lai is facing two counts of conspiracy to “collude with foreign forces” and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious publications.
The case uses 161 stories from Apple Daily and his social media comments and posts as evidence against him.
At the end of 2021, the newspaper had to shut down because of police raids and the arrest of its top writers.
The government said that Lai and six other top executives at Apple Daily were using the media company to “stoke opposition to the government” and work together with other countries.
The prosecution named dozens of officials and academics from around the world, including Mike Pompeo, who used to be US Secretary of State, as Lai’s “agents,” “intermediaries,” or “collaborators.”
Lai is also charged with helping two young activists use a protest group called “Stand With Hong Kong” to push for foreign penalties.
There are now seven guilty executives and two activists. Five of them will speak against Lai.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament last month that Lai, who is a British citizen, was “a priority” for his Labour government.
In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, Starmer brought up the matter.
Lai’s son had said before that the British government needed to help “much more” because Lai’s health “could get much worse at any moment.”
A well-known British human rights lawyer led a group of lawyers who sent several reports to the UN about arbitrary imprisonment and extended periods of isolation.
On Sunday, the Hong Kong government slammed the lawyers for “spreading false information,” claiming that Lai had requested isolation from other prisoners.
Robertsons, a Hong Kong law firm, is representing Lai in the trial. They have also played down some of the claims.
In September, the company said in a statement, “Mr. Lai wishes to make it known that he has been getting the right medical care for his conditions, including diabetes.”
“He can get light from the windows in the hallway outside his cell, but he can’t see the sky.” Every day, he works out for an hour in a safe place.prison