The trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who is accused of violating the national security law, continued on Tuesday (January 2), with prosecutors detailing what they said was Jimmy Lai’s collusion with foreign forces. During the trial, Jimmy Lai refused to plead guilty.
According to the national security law implemented by China in Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai was charged with “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” and “conspiracy to publish seditious publications”. The basis for the charges included Jimmy Lai’s call for sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials.
When each charge was read out, Jimmy Lai expressed “not guilty” three times. He appeared calm as he sat surrounded by guards in a courtroom packed with supporters and foreign diplomats.
Jimmy Lai, 76, is the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily and one of the most prominent critics of the Chinese Communist Party leadership. Western democracies, including the United States, Britain and the European Union, are watching the trial closely. The trial is seen as a possible focal point for diplomatic tension and a key test of Hong Kong’s judicial independence and freedoms since China fully implemented a national security law on the city in 2020.
After a lengthy legal process that spanned three years since Lai’s arrest, prosecutors laid out key details of the case in court for the first time, including meetings between Lai and senior officials in the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. , including former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz and retired U.S. four-star general and former U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Jack Keane. Prosecutors claimed they were evidence of collusion with foreign powers.
Deputy Crown Prosecution Commissioner Chow Tin-hang, representing the prosecution, told three High Court judges that Jimmy Lai was a “radical political figure” who conspired with others to create “hatred and incite opposition” to the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.
In a chart shown in court, Lai’s photo was shown alongside photos of Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Other photos including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and some Taiwanese people were also displayed.
Zhou Tianxing said that Jimmy Lai has been requesting foreign countries, especially the United States, to impose sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials “under the guise of fighting for democracy and freedom” since June 2019.
After the promulgation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong in June 2020, Washington imposed multiple rounds of sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese officials, including Hong Kong Chief Executive Li Jiachao.
In addition, Jimmy Lai is accused of conspiring with multiple companies and six former executives associated with Apple Daily, including U.S. citizen Mark Simon, to produce inflammatory publications and collude with foreign forces.
Other figures named by prosecutors as co-conspirators include Hong Kong activist Finn Lau, financier and activist Bill Browder, and British rights activist and Transnational Congress on China Policy Luke de Pulford, CEO of the Alliance” (IPAC) and others.
The United States and Britain have both called for Jimmy Lai’s immediate release, saying his trial is politically motivated.
(This article refers to a Reuters report.)
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2024-01-02 09:23:08
