Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai finishes testifying in national security trial
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai finished testifying in court in a landmark national security trial where he stands accused of colluding with foreign forces and sedition.
HONG KONG — Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai finished testifying in court on Thursday in a landmark national security trial where he stands accused of colluding with foreign forces and sedition.
Thursday marked day 144 of the trial against Lai and his 52nd day in the witness box, after which he thanked the judges and waved to his supporters.
Lai, 77, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper that was forced to close after a police raid and asset freeze in June 2021, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.
Lai, whose health is fragile according to his family, faces a possible life sentence under a China-imposed national security law. Some countries, including the U.S. and Britain, have called for his immediate release alleging the trial is political.
Lai’s plight has become a friction point between the U.S. and China, with President Donald Trump saying he would “one hundred percent” get Lai out of the country.
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