Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai testifies in controversial trial
SINGAPORE — Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong's most influential pro-democracy figures, is taking the stand on Wednesday in a national security trial that may see him sentenced to life imprisonment.The 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily is accused of colluding with foreign forces by using his media platform to oppose the government.This is his first time testifying in court, even though he has undergone multiple trials since 2020 – all widely seen as politically motivated amid Beijing's tightening grip over the city.Lai said on Wednesday that Apple Daily represented Hong Kong's values, including "freedom [and the] pursuit of democracy."His hearing comes one day after the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy campaigners – part of a group known as the Hong Kong 47 – in the city's largest trial under the controversial national security law.Lai's ongoing trial concerns allegations that Apple Daily published articles supporting the pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019, which were seen by Beijing as a threat to national stability.Lai argued on Wednesday that he opposed violence and that advocating for Hong Kong independence was "too crazy to think about"."The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong," he added.These values, he said, include the "rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly."Lai was previously sentenced to jail on charges including unauthorised assembly and fraud, and has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020.Dozens queued up outside the court on Wednesday morning to show their support for the media mogul.A similar crowd gathered on Tuesday for the sentencing of the Hong Kong 47, which included some of the biggest names in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, like Benny Tai and Joshua Wong.The prosecution of Lai, who holds British citizenship, has captured international attention, with rights groups and foreign governments urging his release.US President-elect Donald Trump said in a podcast in October that he would "100%" get Lai out of China – a claim that was met with calls for "mutual respect" from Hong Kong's leader John Lee.British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has described Lai as a "priority" for his government, expressed concerns about Lai's 'deterioration' when he met Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro this week.
Lai's family and legal team have raised concerns about his health, pointing to his weight loss and increasing frailty during his recent court appearances. — BBC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
A British TV Art Expert Who Sold Works to a Suspected Hezbollah Financier is Sentenced to Prison
An art expert who appeared on the BBC's Bargain Hunt show was sentenced Friday to two and a half years in prison for failing to report his sale of pricey works to a suspected financier of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group. At a previous hearing, Oghenochuko Ojiri, 53, had pleaded guilty to eight offenses under the Terrorism Act 2000. The art sales for about 140,000 pounds ($185,000) to Nazem Ahmad, a diamond and art dealer sanctioned by the UK and US as a Hezbollah financier, took place between October 2020 and December 2021. The sanctions were designed to prevent anyone in the UK or US from trading with Ahmad or his businesses, The Associated Press said. Ojiri, who also appeared on the BBC's Antiques Road Trip, faced a possible sentence of five years in prison in the hearing at London's Central Criminal Court, which is better known as the Old Bailey. In addition to the prison term, Justice Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said Ojiri faces an additional year on license — a period of time after a prison sentence ends when an offender must stay out of trouble or risk going back to prison. She told Ojiri he had been involved in a commercial relationship 'for prestige and profit' and that until his involvement with Ahmad, he was 'someone to be admired.' 'You knew about Ahmad's suspected involvement in financing terrorism and the way the art market can be exploited by someone like him," she said. "This is the nadir — there is one direction your life can go and I am confident that you will not be in front of the courts again.' The Met's investigation into Ojiri was carried out alongside Homeland Security in the US, which is conducting a wider investigation into alleged money laundering by Ahmad using shell companies. 'This prosecution, using specific Terrorism Act legislation, is the first of its kind and should act as a warning to all art dealers that we can, and will, pursue those who knowingly do business with people identified as funders of terrorist groups,' said Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. Ahmad was sanctioned in 2019 by the US Treasury, which said he was a prominent Lebanon-based money launderer involved in smuggling blood diamonds, which are mined in conflict zones and sold to finance violence. Two years ago, the UK Treasury froze Ahmad's assets because he financed Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite militant organization that has been designated an international terrorist group. Following Ojiri's arrest in April 2023, the Met obtained a warrant to seize a number of artworks, including a Picasso and Andy Warhol paintings, belonging to Ahmad and held in two warehouses in the UK The collection, valued at almost 1 million pounds, is due to be sold with the funds to be reinvested back into the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and the Home Office.
Asharq Al-Awsat
3 hours ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Trump Says Fresh US-China Trade Talks in London Next Week
US President Donald Trump announced Friday a new round of trade talks with China in London next week, a day after calling Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in a bid to end a bitter battle over tariffs. The talks in the British capital on Monday will mark the second round of such negotiations between the world's two biggest economies since Trump launched his trade war this year. "The meeting should go very well," said Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform. The president added that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer would meet the Chinese team. The first talks between Washington and Beijing since Trump slapped levies on allies and adversaries alike took place in Geneva last month. While Trump had imposed a sweeping 10 percent duty on imports from most trading partners, rates on Chinese goods rocketed as both countries engaged in an escalating tariffs battle. In April, additional US tariffs on many Chinese products hit 145 percent while China hit back with countermeasures of 125 percent. Following the talks last month, both sides agreed to temporarily bring down the levels, with US tariffs cooling to 30 percent and China's levies at 10 percent. But this temporary halt is expected to expire in early August and Trump last week accused China of violating the pact, underscoring deeper differences on both sides. US officials have accused China of slow-walking export approvals of critical minerals and rare earth magnets, a key issue behind Trump's recent remarks. While Trump's long-awaited phone call with Xi this week likely paved the way for further high-level trade talks, a swift resolution to the tariffs impasse remains uncertain.
Al Arabiya
6 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump signs orders to bolster US drone defenses, boost supersonic flight
President Donald Trump on Friday signed executive orders to bolster US defenses against threatening drones and to boost electric air taxis and supersonic commercial aircraft, the White House said. In the three executive orders, Trump sought to enable routine use of drones beyond the visual sight of operators — a key step to enabling commercial drone deliveries — and to take steps to reduce the US reliance on Chinese drone companies and begin testing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Trump is establishing a federal task force to ensure US control over American skies, expand restrictions over sensitive sites, broaden federal use of technology to detect drones in real time, and provide assistance to state and local law enforcement. Trump also aims to address the 'growing threat of criminal terrorists and foreign misuse of drones in US airspace,' said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 'We are securing our borders from national security threats, including in the air, with large-scale public events such as the Olympics and the World Cup on the horizon.' Sebastian Gorka, senior director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council, cited the use of drones in Russia's war in Ukraine and threats to major US sporting events. 'We will be increasing counter-drone capabilities and capacities,' Gorka said. 'We will increase the enforcement of current laws to deter two types of individuals: evildoers and idiots.' The issue of suspicious drones also gained significant attention last year after a flurry of drone sightings in New Jersey. The FAA receives more than 100 drone-sighting reports near airports each month. Drone sightings have at times disrupted flights and sporting events. Trump also directed the Federal Aviation Administration to lift a ban imposed in 1973 on supersonic air transport over land. 'The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,' Kratsios said. 'Advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction now make overland supersonic flight not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.' The Trump orders do not ban any Chinese drone company, officials said. Last year, former President Joe Biden signed legislation that could ban China-based DJI and Autel Robotics from selling new drone models in the US. DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, sells more than half of all US commercial drones.
