Hong Kong tycoon pleads not guilty in national security trial; charges explained
The 76-year-old is the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to all charges against him in a high-profile national security trial that could see the city's leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party jailed for life, Reuters reported.
The 76-year-old is the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. He is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications under a colonial-era sedition law.
Apple Daily was branded as “anti-national” for its aggressive backing of the pro-democracy mobilisations that rocked Hong Kong in 2020 after Beijing introduced the draconian National Security Law (NSL).
Lai, a British citizen, faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces - including calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials - under a China-imposed national security law. He has been accused by authorities of being an “errand boy” of anti-Chinese forces.
Other defendants in the case include three Apple Daily companies that have been taken over by the Hong Kong government, six former executives of the newspaper, and two young activists related to an advocacy group called Stand With Hong Kong Fight For Freedom (SWHK).
On Tuesday, lead prosecutor Anthony Chau told the court the case is about a “radical political figure” who conspired with others against the government of Hong Kong.
Editorial | Hong Kong trials put spotlight on Beijing
"This case is about a radical political figure... who conspired with others to bring into hatred and stir up opposition to the government of (Hong Kong) and the central authorities and to collude with foreign countries or external elements to endanger national security," Chau said, according to AFP.
Chau accused Lai of being the "the mastermind" who used his media business "as a platform to pursue his political agenda... and orchestrated a conspiracy with the so-called democracy and freedom advocacy group Stand with Hong Kong Fight for Freedom".
Lai's trial, which began in late 2023 after he was jailed for more than 1,100 days, is being closely watched as a barometer of Hong Kong's political freedoms and judicial independence.
Both the United States and Britain have called for Lai's immediate release, saying the trial is politically motivated.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities have refuted claims that Lai will not face a fair trial, saying all are equal before the law and that the national security law has brought stability to Hong Kong after mass protests in 2019.