Hong Kong's activist publisher to stand trial this week under Beijing's crackdown on dissidents
ABC News
The trial of Hong Kong’s most famous activist publisher who was arrested under China’s crackdown on dissidents will start this week after being delayed for over a year
HONG KONG -- The trial of Hong Kong’s most famous activist publisher who was arrested under China’s crackdown on dissidents will start Monday after being delayed for over a year.
Jimmy Lai, 76, broke into the city's once freewheeling media world about three decades ago, armed with the belief that delivering information is equal to protecting freedom. Now, his own freedom is at stake as he faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing following the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Lai is charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to publish seditious publications.
The landmark case — tied to the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily that Lai founded — is seen by many 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.
Lai is the founder of Apple Daily, one of the city's media outlets most critical of the government. He was smuggled into Hong Kong from mainland China at age 12 and embarked on a rags-to-riches path, from working at a glove factory to founding the casual clothing chain Giordano.
