The trial for Hong Kong publisher and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, which some are labelling a sham, began this week as the Chinese government has charged the pro-democracy figure with a range of crimes from collusion with foreign entities to undermining the country’s national security.
Lai, who has been under arrest since 2020, faces a possible life sentence, a report from the BBC states. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges against him.
The case stems from the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020 which saw thousands of Hong Kongers take to the streets to protest an extradition bill and later saw a violent crackdown by the Chinese Communist Party.
In 1995, Lai founded and published Apple Daily, a media outlet that became well-known for taking pro-democracy positions on various issues.
The charges against Lai are related to Apple Daily’s activities and specifically the many stances the newspaper took against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including calling for international sanctions against the country during the Hong Kong protests.
The activities eventually led Apple Daily to be shut down by the CCP in June 2021, with the government seizing millions in assets, arresting many of the editorial staff, and raiding the office of the paper.
Lai was arrested under the National Security Law (NSL), which was introduced in 2020 during the protests in response to the scale of protests, which had grown into full-blown unrest.
He faces additional sedition charges on top of the violations of the NSL for interviews, tweets, and material published in Apple Daily.
Lai is a dual citizen of China and the United Kingdom and lawmakers in the UK, along with officials from the United States, have called for his release from prison.
The UK’s Guardian newspaper went as far as declaring the entire trial to be a sham and nakedly political, noting that Lai has not only been denied a lawyer during the process but that the judges in the case, as there is no jury, are appointed by the government.
The paper also noted that all trials under the NSL so far have seen a 100% conviction rate and, even if acquitted, the accused could still be remanded back into custody and may face life in prison regardless of the outcome.
Lai attempted to hire a British lawyer named Timothy Owen but was blocked from doing so by Hong Kong authorities, which claimed that Owen could pose a national security risk, leading to the trial being postponed; it was initially scheduled to begin last December.
Members of Lai’s family have attempted to lobby the UK and spoke with Foreign Secretary David Cameron last week.
Cameron urged the Chinese to repeal the NSL and to release Lai from custody, calling the trial politically motivated.
“Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Cameron said and added, “We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights.”
The CCP pushed back against UK involvement in the case stating, “The UK’s backing of an anti-China, Hong Kong destabiliser who broke the law constitutes flagrant interference in a case that has already entered judicial proceedings.”
The trial comes a year after Lai was convicted of fraud and sentenced to nine months in prison and a fine of around €250,000 due to violating a lease contract, although his defence argued Lai was being prosecuted on a technicality.
Many have claimed that the CCP’s actions in recent years, including the crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters, are a violation of the handover agreement between the UK and China, which calls for Beijing to allow Hong Kong to have self-governance for at least 50 years after the handover in 1997.
Other major figures also fell afoul of Beijing in the wake of the 2019 protests, including the retired Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who was arrested in May of 2022 on charges of colluding with foreign forces due to his involvement in a fund helping pro-democracy protesters.
He was later fined by the government for his involvement after being convicted along with five others who were also involved with the fund.
