Defiant Jimmy Lai denies foreign collusion at high-profile Hong Kong national security trial

Mr Lai, one of Hong Kong's most influential pro-democracy figures, faces up to life in jail if found guilty at trial denounced by Western nations

Prominent pro-democracy advocate and media tycoon Jimmy Lai testified for the first time in a national security trial that could see him jailed for life – as part of a China-led crackdown on dissent.

A defiant Mr Lai, a British citizen and the founder of pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, denied the charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials.

The 76-year-old is among the most high-profile figures targeted under the Beijing-imposed national security law, which came into force in 2020. Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021.

Mr Lai’s testimony came just a day after Hong Kong jailed 45 pro-democracy activists for up to 10 years in a separate national security case. Both cases have been roundly condemned by Western nations as being politically motivated.

Speaking at the West Kowloon Magistrates Court, Mr Lai described how his principles, centred on the rule of law and freedoms of speech, religion, and assembly, shaped the newspaper’s mission.

“We were always in support of movements for freedom,” Mr Lai said, addressing a packed courtroom while dressed in a grey blazer.

Mr Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, speaking toThe Independent, praised his father’s resilience. “Mentally, he seemed to be doing well. He's still very sharp; he gave a very strong testimony. And in the end, I think you could see his commitment to journalism and to the importance of journalism in Hong Kong.”

Wednesday’s hearing drew diplomats from the US, UK, Germany, France, Australia, Switzerland, and Ireland, underscoring the case’s international significance. The US government has condemned Mr Lai’s prosecution, calling for his immediate release. Around 100 people queued in the pouring rain huddled beneath umbrellas to secure a place in the courtroom, with hundreds of police deployed around the building.

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong ahead of Hong Kong activist publisher Lai’s national security trial (AP)

Mr Lai faces two counts of conspiracy to collude under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law, alongside a separate charge of conspiracy to produce seditious publications.

The trial, which began last December, has already seen six co-defendants, including senior staff from Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital, plead guilty. They admitted to working with Mr Lai to request foreign nations or organisations to impose sanctions or take hostile actions against Hong Kong and Beijing.

During his trial, it was alleged that Mr Lai and others had requested a foreign country or organisation – especially the US – “to impose sanctions or blockade, or engage in other hostile activities” against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.

Asked if he used his overseas contacts, including former Taiwan president and top US officials, to influence Hong Kong policy, Mr Lai replied, “Never”, reported the BBC.

One example of Mr Lai‘s alleged collusion were meetings in July 2019 with then US vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo to discuss the political crisis in Hong Kong as mass pro-democracy and anti-China protests intensified.

Under oath in court on Wednesday, Mr Lai denied asking anything specific of Mr Pence.

Media tycoon Lai poses during an interview with AFP at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in June 2020 (AFP via Getty)

“I would not dare to ask the vice-president to do anything. I would just relay to him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me,” Mr Lai told the court.

Mr Lai said he had asked Mr Pompeo and the US “not to do something but to say something. To voice out its support for Hong Kong.”

On Taiwan, Mr Lai said he had sought to connect former US deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz and retired US general Jack Keane to an interlocutor for former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen.

“Tsai and myself are friends, so we always talk about US policy,” he told the court, explaining he had sought to connect both sides to create an unofficial channel between then US president Donald Trump and the Tsai administration to bolster mutual understanding.

Supporters have rallied around Mr Lai, viewing him as a symbol of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. “Apple Daily was the voice of many Hong Kongers,” said William Wong, 64, a retiree who attended the trial. “It’s my political expression to let him know I support him. He’s done a lot for Hong Kong.”

Mr Lai’s son dismissed the proceedings as a “show trial,” arguing his father “should not have been arrested”. He added: “I mean, it shouldn’t even be happening in the first place, so it in on itself is already a very negative outcome.”

He cited a recent statement by the UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which called for the trial to be halted and for Mr Lai’s immediate release. “The trial shouldn't be happening, he shouldn’t have been arrested in the first place. And it should be stopped and he should be released immediately,” he said.

Mr Lai has been in pre-trial detention for over 1,400 days and is already serving a five-year, nine-month sentence for a separate fraud case related to a lease dispute involving Apple Daily.

The charges stem from Beijing’s imposition of the national security law following months of pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019. Critics argue the law has been used to stifle dissent and target press freedom in the former British colony.

Simon Cheng, a former UK Hong Kong consulate employee detained in China in 2019 before later being granted asylum in the UK, told The Independent: “It is a show trial... It is meant as a warning to other Hong Kongers: if you speak out against us, you will be caught and put in prison.

“[The authorities] will show Jimmy Lai's conviction to the world and pretend it is the rule of law. But it is not”.

Additional reporting by agencies