The sedition trial of Jimmy Lai, media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily, ended Thursday. He faces life in prison. File Photo by Vernon Yuen/EPA
The years-long trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai ended Thursday, with judges saying a verdict will come “in good time.”
Lai’s lawyers finished their closing arguments, which lasted about eight days, after a two-day suspension for doctors to run tests on the 77-year-old’s heart.
“It’s not wrong to support freedom of expression or human rights,” Lai’s barrister Robert Pang said in his closing speech last week. “Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even a country.”
His lawyers said prosecutors tried to “denigrate” the guarantee of fundamental rights by going after Lai, who is accused of alleged sedition and collusion with foreign powers. The trial has been going on since 2023, and Lai has given a 52-day testimony. He has been in solitary confinement since December 2020 and faces life in prison.
At Thursday’s court appearance, Lai wore a white shirt and beige blazer. He was much thinner than in previous court appearances.
Lai, a citizen of the United Kingdom, founded Apple Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. The tabloid has been described as anti-government, pro-democracy and anti-China.
Prosecutors have accused Lai of requesting foreign countries to engage in “hostile activities,” such as imposing sanctions, against authorities in Hong Kong and China. He allegedly conspired with senior editorial staff of Apple Daily and was the “mastermind and financial supporter” of the “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” advocacy group.
Lai denied in court that he had ever sought to influence the Hong Kong policies of other countries via his high-level contacts overseas, including former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Beijing added national security laws directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 after a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalized subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts. This gave police broad new powers and led to hundreds of arrests, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. Authorities said it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.
Cases like this have nearly a 100% conviction rate, but his family and supporters have been hoping for a diplomatic deal that would set him free.
President Donald Trump has said he would do everything he could to “save” Lai, while also saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping “would not be exactly thrilled.”
