Latest news with #prodemocracyprotests
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai's collusion trial resumes after delay
The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. The sprawling trial, which began in December 2023, is entering its final stages as Western nations and rights groups continue to call for Lai's release. Aside from the collusion offence -- which could land him in prison for life -- Lai is also charged with "seditious publication" related to 161 op-eds carrying his byline. Despite being kept behind bars since December 2020, the tycoon gave spirited courtroom testimony over more than 50 days during the trial. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Thursday that "the world is watching how Hong Kong treats its journalists". "The prolonged detention of Jimmy Lai not only destroys Hong Kong's historic reputation as a free and open society, but also as a trusted hub for business," said CPJ regional director Beh Lih Yi. US President Donald Trump said on a Fox News radio programme on Thursday that he had previously brought up the Lai case with Chinese President Xi Jinping. "I'm going to do everything I can to save him... you could also understand President Xi would not be exactly thrilled," the outlet quoted Trump as saying. The Hong Kong government said Wednesday it "strongly disapproved and rejected the slanderous remarks made by external forces" regarding Lai's case. 'Political prisoner' Throughout the trial, Lai has fielded questions about his political ideology, management style and overseas contacts. He described himself at least twice as a "political prisoner", which drew sharp rebukes from the three-judge panel. Prosecutors showed the court a diagram titled "(Lai's) external political connections", arguing that he had exerted influence in the United States, Britain and Taiwan. It featured headshots of top US political figures, including Trump, his former deputy Mike Pence and ex-secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Former Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was also among those named. Two prosecution witnesses, Chan Tsz-wah and Andy Li, also accused Lai of financially backing the advocacy group "Stand With Hong Kong" to run overseas newspaper ads supporting the 2019 protests. Lai has denied calling for sanctions against China and Hong Kong and said he never advocated separatism. Four other people who held senior roles in Apple Daily were called upon by prosecutors to testify about how Lai shaped the outlet's political stance. The mogul said his newspaper championed democracy and freedom, adding that he had always disavowed violence. "The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong... (including) rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly," Lai said on the first day of his testimony. Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of its senior editors. Lai is a British citizen and his son Sebastien reiterated in March calls for the Keir Starmer administration to do more, saying: "I don't want my father to die in jail."
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Final stage of Jimmy Lai's landmark national security trial to begin
Update: Date: 02:04 BST Title: What is Hong Kong's national security law? Content: Beijing introduced the controversial national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, in response to pro-democracy protests that had erupted the year before. The law criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. These offences are punishable with a maximum sentence of life in prison. The law also contains provisions allowing some trials to be heard behind closed doors; giving Beijing power over how the law should be interpreted; and letting some cases be tried in mainland China. Critics have called it "the end of Hong Kong" and say it has created a climate of fear in the city. But Beijing and Hong Kong authorities argue the law is necessary to maintain stability and deny it has weakened autonomy. More than 300 people - protesters, pro-democracy politicians and journalists - have been arrested under the law. Read more about the national security law. Update: Date: 01:50 BST Title: Who is Jimmy Lai? Content: Jimmy Lai was born in 1947 in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power two years later. He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat. While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop, he taught himself English. He went from a menial role to eventually founding a multi-million dollar empire including the international clothing brand Giordano. When China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as a democracy activist, as well as an entrepreneur. He wrote columns criticising the Tiananmen Square massacre and launched pro-democracy titles like Next Magazine and tabloid paper Apple Daily. Many in Hong Kong hailed him as a defender of freedom though others in the mainland viewed him as a "traitor". Read more about Jimmy Lai's life here. Update: Date: 01:45 BST Title: Welcome to our live coverage Content: A court in Hong Kong is set to begin hearing closing arguments from prosecution and defence lawyers in the national security case against Jimmy Lai, one of the city's most influential pro-democracy figures. The 77-year-old has been accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition - and could face life in jail if found guilty. He is one of hundreds of activists, lawmakers and protesters that have been detained since Beijing imposed a controversial National Security Law (NSL) - though he is arguably the most prominent person to be charged with violating the NSL so far. Beijing says the NSL is needed to quell unrest in the former British territory, but critics argue that it has been used to crush dessent. Lai - who is a UK citizen - has been held in solitary confinement since December 2020. Stay with us as as we bring you live updates from the court.
France 24
2 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Hong Kong court to hear closing arguments in mogul Jimmy Lai's trial
The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Lai has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, with Western nations and rights groups calling for his release. Aside from the collusion offence -- which could land him in prison for life -- Lai is also charged with "seditious publication" related to 161 op-eds he allegedly wrote. The tycoon gave spirited courtroom testimony over more than 50 days during the trial, fielding questions about his political ideology, management style and overseas contacts. Lai described himself at least twice as a "political prisoner", which drew sharp rebukes from the three-judge panel. Hong Kong authorities have repeatedly rejected criticism related to Lai, saying last month that his case was "handled strictly on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law". Antoine Bernard of Reporters Without Borders said on Tuesday that Lai's treatment "exposes the authorities' ruthless determination to silence and suppress one of the most prominent advocates for press freedom amid Hong Kong's rapidly deteriorating media landscape". 'External political connections' Prosecutors showed the court a diagram titled "(Lai's) external political connections", arguing that he had exerted influence in the United States, Britain and Taiwan. It featured headshots of top US political figures, including President Donald Trump, his former deputy Mike Pence and ex-secretary of state Mike Pompeo. Former Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen was also among those named. Two prosecution witnesses, Chan Tsz-wah and Andy Li, also accused Lai of financially backing the advocacy group "Stand With Hong Kong" to run overseas newspaper ads supporting the 2019 protests. Lai has denied calling for sanctions against China and Hong Kong and said he never advocated separatism. Four other people who held senior roles in Apple Daily were called upon by prosecutors to testify about how Lai shaped the outlet's political stance. The mogul said his newspaper championed democracy and freedom, adding that he had always disavowed violence. "The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong... (including) rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly," Lai said on the first day of his testimony. Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of its senior editors. Lai is a British citizen and his son Sebastien reiterated in March calls for the Keir Starmer administration to do more, saying: "I don't want my father to die in jail."
