Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily founder, arrives at the Court of Final Appeal ahead a bail hearing on February 9, 2021
Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most influential pro-democracy figures, is taking the stand on Wednesday in a national security trial that may see him sentenced to life imprisonment.
The 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily is accused of colluding with foreign forces by using his media platform to oppose the government.
This is his first time testifying in court, even though he has undergone multiple trials since 2020 – all widely seen as politically motivated amid Beijing’s tightening grip over the city.
Lai said on Wednesday that Apple Daily represented Hong Kong’s values, including “freedom [and the] pursuit of democracy.”
Hong Kong mogul Jimmy Lai testifies in controversial trial
Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily founder, arrives at the Court of Final Appeal ahead a bail hearing on February 9, 2021
Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong’s most influential pro-democracy figures, is taking the stand on Wednesday in a national security trial that may see him sentenced to life imprisonment.
The 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily is accused of colluding with foreign forces by using his media platform to oppose the government.
This is his first time testifying in court, even though he has undergone multiple trials since 2020 – all widely seen as politically motivated amid Beijing’s tightening grip over the city.
Lai said on Wednesday that Apple Daily represented Hong Kong’s values, including “freedom [and the] pursuit of democracy.”
His hearing comes one day after the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy campaigners – part of a group known as the Hong Kong 47 – in the city’s largest trial under the controversial national security law.
Lai’s ongoing trial concerns allegations that Apple Daily published articles supporting the pro-democracy protests that rocked the city in 2019, which were seen by Beijing as a threat to national stability.
