Hong Kong court begins Day 2 of activist publisher Jimmy Lai's trial
ABC News
The national security trial of Hong Kong’s famous activist publisher Jimmy Lai entered its second day with the expectation that judges will rule by the end of the week on his lawyers' bid to throw out a sedition charge that has been increasingly used t...
HONG KONG -- The national security trial of Hong Kong's famous activist publisher Jimmy Lai entered its second day Tuesday, with judges expected to rule by the end of the week on his lawyers' bid to throw out a sedition charge that has been increasingly used to target dissidents.
Lai, 76, was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement following massive protests in 2019. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing. He was charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to put out seditious publications.
His landmark trial — tied to the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily that Lai founded — is widely seen as a trial for press freedom and a test for judicial independence in the former British colony, which was promised to have its Western-style civil liberties remain intact for 50 years after returning to Chinese rule in 1997.
After Lai walked into the courtroom Tuesday, he smiled and waved to his supporters just as he did the day before. He also subtly blew a kiss to the public gallery. A supporter chanted, “Hang in there!”
Before opening statements, the judge heard arguments from both sides about whether the prosecution had passed the time limit in charging Lai for sedition. The law requires the prosecution of sedition charges to begin within six months after an alleged offense was committed.
