Washington D.C. – CNN, November 20, 2024
Jimmy Lai, the pugnacious Hong Kong media tycoon whose now shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, took the stand Wednesday in his own defense for the first time in a high stakes national security trial that could send him to prison for life.
The 77 year-old, known for his decades-long support of the city’s pro-democracy movement and outspoken criticism of China’s leaders, hasn’t been heard from since he was arrested nearly four years ago amid a deepening crackdown on dissent.
Dressed in a green cardigan and a brown blazer, a visibly thinner Lai smiled and waved at a public gallery packed with supporters, as he entered the courtroom flanked by officers. His wife and daughter were seated next to Cardinal Joseph Zen, an outspoken former bishop of Hong Kong and a friend of Lai’s.
He faces two counts of colluding with foreign forces, a crime under a sweeping national security law introduced in 2020 that has transformed Hong Kong, as well as a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
In his defense, Lai stressed that he had always opposed violence during the anti-government protests of 2019 and called the idea of advocating for Hong Kong and Taiwan independence as “crazy.” Both issues are deemed anathema by Beijing and seen as “red lines.”
The tycoon called allegations of him lobbying for independence a “conspiracy” to trap him, adding that “I never allow any of our staff or our newspaper to mention … this.” He said he never hired anyone at Apple Daily who advocated the idea.
