One of many foremost faces of Hong Kong’s pro-Democracy scene, British citizen and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, has began testifying in court docket.
It’s the first time he has spoken in court docket in a case that has been delayed for years.
Lai, 77, has been charged beneath Hong Kong’s nationwide safety regulation with two counts of conspiracy to commit international collusion and one rely of publishing seditious materials.
He’s accused of asking the US and different international international locations to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China. Lai has denied all prices.
He stated the publication represented the “core values” of Hong Kong.
Lai additionally mentioned his participation in political actions together with occasions commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath.
Hong Kong authorities raided Apple Every day’s workplace and shut it down in 2021.
This got here after town was engulfed in pro-democracy demonstrations in opposition to an extradition regulation in 2019.
China insists the protests had been “riots” that had introduced elements of town to a standstill.
The extradition regulation was later cancelled, the protest motion was quashed, and dissenters silenced.
On Tuesday, 45 activists acquired sentences starting from 4 to 10 years for conspiracy to commit subversion after holding an unofficial major election within the metropolis in 2020.
Picture:
Armed police stand guard outdoors the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong on 20 November. Pic: AP Photograph/Chan Lengthy Hei
China’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian stated: “Hong Kong is a society governed by the rule of law.
“It’s a primary precept that legal guidelines should be complied with and violations of the regulation should be punished, and nobody can interact in illegal actions within the title of democracy and try to flee from it.”
Lin Jian urged international international locations to not intervene with China’s inner affairs.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised the case of Jimmy Lai with China’s President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 on Monday.
Sir Keir has beforehand stated securing the discharge of Lai is a “priority for the government”.
US president-elect Donald Trump has pledged “100%” to safe Lai’s freedom.
Lai has already spent 4 years in jail. He was discovered responsible on fraud prices in 2020 and was sentenced to 6 years in jail.
The fees he now faces beneath the territory’s nationwide safety regulation may see him handed a life sentence.
