A police car drives alongside the motorcade that carries media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, back to Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre after the first day of his national security trial, in Hong Kong, on Dec. 18.TYRONE SIU/Reuters
The trial of Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai was adjourned Tuesday for judges to consider the defence’s argument that prosecutors waited too long to charge the 76-year-old under a colonial-era sedition law.
Mr. Lai is accused of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to publish seditious publications. The latter charge is under a law that dates back to 1914 and was dormant for 50 years until the current Hong Kong government began a rash of sedition prosecutions in 2020.
In court Monday and Tuesday, Mr. Lai’s lawyers pointed to a six-month time limit in the law and said prosecutors had gone over this, so the charges should be thrown out. Judges adjourned the case until Friday, when they will deliver a verdict on this point, delaying opening arguments until next week in a trial that is expected to last at least 80 days.
Even if Mr. Lai’s lawyers are successful in having the sedition charge thrown out, he will still face the far more serious charges under Hong Kong’s national security law, for which the maximum penalty is life in prison.
Canada, the United States and Britain have all called for Mr. Lai’s release, condemning his prosecution as an attack on dissent and freedom of the press. Speaking in the British Parliament on Monday, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the Minister of State for the Indo-Pacific, described the case against Mr. Lai, a British citizen, as “politically motivated.”
“He has faced multiple charges to discredit and silence him. As an outspoken journalist and publisher, he has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Ms. Trevelyan said. “Diplomats from our consulate-general attended court today as a visible sign of the U.K.’s support, and they will continue to do so. We will continue to press for consular access to Mr. Lai, which the Hong Kong prison authorities have repeatedly refused. China considers anyone of Chinese heritage born in China to be a Chinese national. It does not recognize other nationalities and therefore considers Mr. Lai to be exclusively Chinese.”
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Representatives of Canada, the U.S., Australia and New Zealand were also in attendance Monday, along with diplomats from several European countries and hundreds of members of the public, many of whom queued for hours to get a seat at the opening of the hotly anticipated trial.
One supporter shouted, “Hang in there!” as Mr. Lai entered court Tuesday, waving and blowing a kiss to his wife and two children in the public seats.
Speaking late Monday, after a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee pushed back against critics, saying Hong Kong “has a long tradition of the rule of law, and Hong Kong courts always adjudicate cases fairly and impartially.”
Many observers feel this reputation has been left in tatters by the national security law, imposed on the city by Beijing after anti-government protests in 2019. Earlier this year, Hong Kong security chief Chris Tang boasted that prosecutors had a 100-per-cent conviction rate under the law, the type of figure usually considered a sign of anything but fairness.
Nor has Beijing made any qualms about the verdict it expects in Mr. Lai’s case. Speaking to reporters after the first day of hearings wrapped up, Chinese Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin described Mr. Lai as the “major mastermind and participant of the anti-China riots in Hong Kong.”
“He is an agent and pawn of the anti-China forces,” Mr. Wang said. “What he did was detrimental to Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability and the well-being of the people in Hong Kong.”
In a separate statement, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s office in Hong Kong said Mr. Lai’s “evil deeds will be rewarded,” while Chinese state media referred to him as a “secessionist media tycoon.”
Supporters of the Apple Daily publisher have said they do not expect him to receive a fair trial. “We all know this is only going one way, and it’s leading towards a conviction and likely a very high sentence,” lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher said.
With a report from the Associated Press
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