- Ex-media mogul testifies in security law trial for first time
- Trump, Starmer have talked about his case in recent weeks
Hong Kong’s former media tycoon Jimmy Lai rebuffed allegations he colluded with foreign governments against China in his first testimony at a landmark national security trial, forcefully fighting charges that could see the 76-year-old put away for life.
Lai denied using his connections with foreign officials to influence their policy toward the former British colony on Wednesday, his first public remarks since his 2020 detention. The founder of now-shuttered Apple Daily sought to cast his exchanges with overseas politicians as innocuous, including a meeting with Mike Pence during pro-democracy protests that roiled the financial hub in 2019.
“To tell the vice president to say something or do something is beyond me,” Lai said of that meeting. He didn’t even know they would meet in person before he arrived in Washington, he told the court.
Hong Kong became a source of tension between Beijing and Western governments after China crushed dissent by imposing a national security law. Scores of pro-democracy activists including Joshua Wong were jailed for terms running up to 10 years on Tuesday using that measure in sentences widely condemned by Western democracies.
Lai’s trial was closely monitored by foreign officials, including US consular staff whose government has vowed to impose visa curbs on those who carried out Beijing’s sweeping crackdown on dissent. A guilty verdict for Lai would likely further inflame Hong Kong’s political relationships just as the city struggles to attract investment and tourists in the shadow of a slowing Chinese economy.
US President-elect Donald Trump vowed on the campaign trail to ask China’s leader Xi Jinping to free Lai, while British leader Keir Starmer voiced concerns about his case during a leaders’ meeting this week at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil. Lai faces long odds in battling his case under the national security law, which so far has led to the conviction of 77 people and only two acquittals, according to a tracker compiled by ChinaFile.
Beijing has also threatened to retaliate possible US measures such as the closing of Hong Kong’s trade offices in the country, potential tit-for-tat actions that could further hurt the city’s reputation as a stable business hub.
Lai appeared gaunt but good-spirited as he was led into the courtroom in West Kowloon, wearing a gray blazer over a green sweater and white shirt. He waved at the gallery, packed with supporters who’d lined up in the driving rain overnight for a glimpse of the former mogul activist.
Since Lai was denied bail and detained in December 2020, he has been kept in solitary confinement, according to a team of international lawyers advocating for his freedom. Hong Kong authorities deny Lai has been mistreated and claim he chose the isolated cell.
Lai began his testimony by recounting why he’d founded media company Next Media, a few years before the city returned to Chinese rule in 1997. His now-shuttered newspaper Apple Daily represented the city’s core values, he said, citing the rule of law, pursuit of democracy and freedom of speech, religion and assembly.
The septuagenarian is accused of operating a campaign to convince Western governments to sanction Hong Kong and Beijing for curbing freedoms in the city. Prosecutors have cited as evidence his meetings with officials including former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as well as articles published in his popular tabloid. Lai has also been accused of conspiracy to publish seditious material under a colonial-era law.
Lai told the court he’s never met Trump but hoped his administration could prevent Beijing from imposing the national security law. “A call to China, a call to Xi Jinping, whatever,” Lai said when questioned by a judge on how he thought the former US president could help.
Lai asked his newspaper’s Taiwan colleagues not to go against Trump in their reporting because Apple Daily couldn’t survive under the legislation, the court heard.
Famous Critic
For as long as he’s had a public platform, Lai has been a critic of the Chinese government. He famously insulted former leader Li Peng by calling him the “son of a turtle egg,” and his tabloid backed mass protests in 2014 and 2019 calling for greater democracy. Beijing branded those movements “color revolutions” designed to topple the government.
That mission thrust his publication into the spotlight in 2019, as its front pages implored residents to fight for liberties not enjoyed in mainland China. After Beijing imposed a national security law the following year, such clarion calls became illegal. Lai was arrested and the paper shuttered.
“Jimmy Lai is a major mastermind and participant of the anti-China rise in Hong Kong,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said at a regular briefing in Beijing on Wednesday. “He is an agent and proxy of anti-China forces.”
His lawyers have argued the government failed to provide evidence that Lai’s conspiracy plot remained in place after the national security law came into effect in 2020. Prosecutors rebutted the claim, saying the testimonies from Lai’s associates showed the offending acts didn’t stop after the legislation was enacted.
In court, he struck a moderate tone with remarks seemingly calibrated to rebuff allegations he was a political radical. He dismissed the idea of advocating for independence, branding nascent but growing separatist calls during the 2019 pro-democracy protests as a “conspiracy.”
“It was a crazy idea to think about,” Lai said in English. “That’s why I never allowed my staff or newspaper to mention this.”
Written by: Lorretta Chen and Lauren Faith Lau — With assistance from Nikita Koirala and Dan Murtaugh @Bloomberg
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