Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai's Trial Begins Under National Security Law

The case, expected to last 80 days, is seen as a critical test of Hong Kong's judicial independence and freedoms, drawing international attention and concern.

• Jimmy Lai, the 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, is set to go on trial on Monday, December 18, 2023, under Hong Kong's national security law for charges of 'colluding with foreign forces' and 'seditious publication'.
• Lai's trial is expected to last 80 days and is being closely watched globally as a test of Hong Kong's judicial independence and freedoms under the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
• The charges against Lai revolve around Apple Daily, which he founded in 1995 and was once Hong Kong's most popular Chinese-language tabloid. The newspaper was forced to shutter in June 2021 after authorities used the security law to raid it twice and freeze assets worth HK$18 million (US$2.3 million).
• All defendants except Lai have pleaded guilty and some have agreed to testify for the prosecution. Lai has been jailed since Hong Kong's top court denied him bail in late 2020.
• The US, Britain, the European Union, and the United Nations have all expressed concerns about Lai's case, which Beijing has dismissed as smearing and interference.

8 Articles

CNA Washington Post Washington Post Human Rights Watch South China Morning Post Amnesty International The Japan Times Al Jazeera