EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The dark truth about the thousands of Chinese babies snatched from their mothers and sold to childless couples in Britain and America
'It really hit home how much of our identity is grounded on just a few pieces of paper, and we can't even trust those,' she says.
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The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Lawyer for activist Jimmy Lai defends free speech in landmark Hong Kong trial
A lawyer for prominent Hong Kong democracy activist and newspaper founder Jimmy Lai argued Wednesday that it was not wrong to support freedom of expression, as he made final arguments in Lai's landmark sedition trial. Barrister Robert Pang was representing Lai in his fight against charges of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. Lai, 77, faces up to life in prison if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing following anti-government protests in 2019. The high-profile trial, which has lasted 150 days so far, entered its final stage this week, though the date for a verdict remains unclear. Foreign governments and political observers are closely monitoring the outcome, which is widely seen as a barometer of the city's judicial independence and press freedom. As the defense began its closing arguments, Pang said it was not wrong to hope that the government would change its policies, whether through internal review or pressure, whether from inside or outside of Hong Kong. 'It's not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country,' he said. He added that the prosecution seemed to have dismissed human rights as an alien concept. Prosecutors have deemed 161 articles published in Lai's now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper to have been seditious. Pang pushed back against that notion, using three examples to argue that they were just 'reporting,' and that the items in question were only a small fraction of what the newspaper published. Judge Esther Toh said the three-judge panel was looking at the content of the articles, not the number, and said she wasn't playing a mathematical game. She said it is not wrong not to love the government, but it becomes wrong when someone does that through certain nefarious means. Earlier in the day, prosecutor Anthony Chau concluded his closing statement, arguing that Lai was a mastermind of a conspiracy linked to foreign collusion, and that his testimony during the trial has not been credible. The hearing will resume on Thursday. Despite health issues, Lai has continued to appear in court since the final arguments began on Monday. Concerns over Lai's health delayed the trial last week after Pang reported that his client had experienced heart palpitations and the judges wanted him to receive medical treatment first. A heart monitor was delivered to Lai. Last Friday, the Hong Kong government said a medical examination of Lai found no abnormalities and that the medical care he received in custody was adequate.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Jimmy Lai has ‘unwavering intent' to solicit foreign sanctions, Hong Kong court told
Prosecutors in Jimmy Lai's marathon national security trial have wrapped up their closing arguments in Hong Kong, telling the court that the elderly media mogul and activist had 'unwavering intent' to solicit foreign sanctions. Lai has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to commit foreign collusion under the Beijing-designed national security law, and another charge under the colonial-era sedition laws of conspiring to publish seditious materials. Prosecutors say Lai used his media outlet and foreign political connections to lobby for governments to impose sanctions and other punitive measures against Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. The prosecutor Anthony Chau told the court that Lai showed 'unwavering intent to solicit [sanctions, blockade, or hostile activities] from foreign countries'. 'These collaborations are long-term and persistent,' Chau added. The 77-year-old faces life in jail if found guilty. The closing arguments were scheduled to begin last Thursday but the court was delayed by bad weather for a day, and then further postponed over health concerns related to Lai's heart. Lai's lawyer, Robert Pang, told the court last week that the tycoon had experienced heart 'palpitation' and episodes that felt like 'collapsing' while in jail. Lai appeared healthy as he entered the dock on Monday, and he smiled and waved to his family at the public gallery. The national security trial has stretched for more than 140 days – beyond the 80 originally set down – and years after his arrest in 2020. Over three days the prosecution summarised their arguments, including that articles published in Lai's pro-democracy tabloid newspaper, Apple Daily, falsely portrayed Chinese authorities as oppressors of Hong Kong freedoms, in order to lobby for foreign intervention after the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement. Chau told the court the articles published in Apple Daily were not 'rational criticism,' and that none of them provided recommendations, nor did they 'venture to suggest any solutions'. He said the paper's criticisms of the Chinese authorities were an 'indirect' means of calling on foreign governments to interfere. However his argument received some pushback from the judges overseeing the case, who questioned whether that amounted to sedition. 'Did they actually have to venture that? You can write a critical article about the water problem, but do you have to venture to offer solutions?' judge Esther Toh said, appearing to reference a recent issue with local drinking water. Judge Alex Lee pointed to Apple Daily articles calling for the now-shelved extradition bill – which was the original focus of the 2019 protests – to be withdrawn, saying: 'They were opposing the very introduction of the extradition bill … was that not a suggested solution?' Lee added that an article could not be considered seditious if its purpose was to highlight pitfalls in governance, 'but if it was to defame the government causing the people to lose confidence or to turn hostile against the government, that would be a case of sedition'. Chau said that even after Beijing's national security law in the city was passed, Lai did not stop his alleged collaborators, including members of the overseas activist group Stand With Hong Kong (SWHK), which Lai is accused of backing financially, and the Interparliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), from continuing to lobby for sanctions. Chau said 'Lai knew exactly what IPAC was doing at the time', and that he had maintained ties with current and former US government and military officials after the passage of the law. During the trial, prosecutors had presented as evidence a network of mostly foreign politicians, including Donald Trump, his former vice-president Mike Pence, and senior members of his first administration. Taiwan's former president Tsai Ing-wen and a number of UK, US and Taiwan activists, academics, politicians and journalists were also listed. In November, Lai told the court he had met some, but he denied asking for any concrete action beyond speaking in support of Hong Kong. He said he had never met, spoken to or exchanged messages with Trump, but believed the US president had been briefed about him. Lai's defence team's closing arguments are expected to finish early next week, before the three-judge panel retires to decide on their ruling. A verdict is expected before November, due to the start of another national security trial, but no date is set. The trial of the so-called 'Hong Kong 47' took more than five months between the end of hearings and a verdict, and another five for sentencing.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai's lawyer defends basic rights in trial's final stretch
HONG KONG, Aug 20 (Reuters) - The lawyer for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai argued on Wednesday that supporting individual rights is not a crime in the final stretch of a closely watched and years-long national security trial. Lai, 77, who founded the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He faces a maximum life sentence. The trial is widely seen as a test for judicial independence in the financial hub under national security laws that were imposed by China in 2020 in response to mass pro-democracy demonstrations. Lai, a longstanding critic of the Chinese Communist Party, is one of the most high-profile figures to face prosecution under the law. His trial has been condemned by some countries like the United States as politically motivated. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities say Lai is being given a fair trial. Lai's lawyer Robert Pang, who began his final legal submission on Wednesday, said Lai had been defending and exercising basic rights. "It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights," Pang told the three-judge panel that is expected to deliver a verdict later this year once this current round of final legal submissions is concluded after around one week. "It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country, because ... you can't force someone to think in one way or another," Pang added. One of the judges, Esther Toh, said that this was not what the prosecution argued. "It's not wrong not to love the government, but if you do that by certain nefarious means, then it's wrong," Toh said. Pang also disputed the prosecution's citing of 161 articles published by the Apple Daily between April 1, 2019 and June 4 2021 as seditious, saying they were "insufficient to draw any inference" of a conspiracy. The prosecution alleges that Lai colluded with overseas officials including those in the first Trump administration to impose sanctions or conduct hostile activities against Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, including trade embargoes. Earlier on Wednesday, the prosecution wrapped up its final submission, saying there was "overwhelming evidence" to show Lai was the "mastermind" of the alleged conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. It added that Lai had done nothing to stop illegal activities engaged in by other co-conspirators and through advocacy groups critical of China, such as "Stand With Hong Kong" and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC). Lai, whose health is fragile according to his family, was provided with a heart monitor and medication after the court was told that he had suffered heart "palpitations". Over 320 people have been arrested under the national security laws so far, including prominent activist Joshua Wong who is serving a 4-year, 8-month prison term for subversion, and now faces a fresh security charge.
