Hong Kong Accused of Political Persecution as Democracy Activist Jimmy Lai Goes on Trial

Members of the public enter the West Kowloon court for the opening day of the trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong on Dec. 18, 2023. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Media mogul Jimmy Lai, an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), went on trial in Hong Kong on Dec. 18, amid widespread calls for his release.

Mr. Lai, 76, founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily and a supporter of Hong Kong’s past pro-democracy movements, is accused of “collusion” with foreign forces under a draconian national security law that the CCP imposed on Hong Kong in 2020. He’s also accused of taking part in a conspiracy to publish “seditious” publications under a British colonial-era sedition law.

His trial at the West Kowloon Law Courts building was open to the public on Dec. 18 and is expected to last 80 days. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

Mr. Lai, the most high-profile figure to be charged under the national security law, is one of many Hongkongers who have lost their freedoms in recent years over their roles in the anti-CCP, pro-democracy protest movement of 2019 and 2020. According to Washington-based advocacy group Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC), there are currently more than 1,760 political prisoners in the former British colony.

On Dec. 18, Mr. Lai’s lawyer, Robert Pang, argued that the sedition charge against his client was made after the six-month statutory time frame, according to Hong Kong outlet RTHK. Mr. Pang explained that prosecutors brought the sedition charge against Mr. Lai on Dec. 28, 2021, more than six months after Apple Daily printed its last edition.

Apple Daily, which was a major pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, was forced to shut down in June 2021 after Hong Kong authorities raided the paper’s headquarters, arrested several of its executives, and froze the paper’s assets, which are worth millions.

In December 2022, Mr. Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months for breaching a lease contract for the paper’s headquarters.

He was also sentenced to 13 months in prison in 2021 for inciting others to participate in a banned 2020 vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre.

As a result, Mr. Lai had already been in prison for more than 1,000 days before the start of the trial on Dec. 18.

Representatives from the U.S., UK, and Canadian consulates attended the Dec. 18 trial, according to HKDC. Retired Cardinal Joseph Zen, 91, also attended the trial.

Concerns

Both the U.S. and the UK governments released statements calling for Mr. Lai’s release ahead of the trial.

“The United States condemns the prosecution of pro-democracy advocate and media owner Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong under the PRC-imposed National Security Law,” U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement, referring to China’s official name, People’s Republic of China.

“We urge Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to respect press freedom in Hong Kong. We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights.”

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he was “particularly concerned at the politically motivated prosecution” of Mr. Lai, according to a statement.

“As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Mr. Cameron said. “I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai.”

The British government is concerned about Mr. Lai’s case because the media mogul is a British citizen. Last week, Mr. Cameron met with Mr. Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), the chair and co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, issued a joint statement on Dec. 17 saying that Mr. Lai’s trial “is a political prosecution plain and simple.”

“Charges against Jimmy Lai should be dropped and he should be released with over 1,000 other political prisoners. Failing these steps, the U.S. should sanction the judges and prosecutors involved in this case and other National Security Law related cases, as we have consistently urged the Biden Administration to do,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We will continue to demand the unconditional release of Jimmy Lai and all of Hong Kong’s political prisoners and seek ways to raise the diplomatic and reputational costs globally for the Hong Kong and PRC government’s rough dismantling of democratic freedom and the rule of law in Hong Kong.”