Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai foreign 'collusion' trial starts

Hong Kong businessman Jimmy Lai went on trial on Monday on national security charges.

He is accused by Beijing of "collusion" with foreign forces and could face life in prison if convicted. China passed a new national security law in 2020, which tightened its control over Hong Kong and cracked down on civil liberties.

Lai is the founder of the Apple Daily tabloid, which has been critical of Beijing. The newspaper was subject to a police raid in 2020 and was forced to close in 2021.

Lai has already been convicted in five other cases, including for organizing and participating in pro-democracy protest marches in 2019 and for a fraud conviction over a lease dispute for his newspaper.

Several other charges have been brought against him, including "conspiracy to publish seditious material."

Lai's lawyer, Robert Pang, argued that the charge should be thrown out because Hong Kong's criminal law imposes a time limit for such prosecutions.

"[Prosecutors] are out of time. Therefore, there is no jurisdiction of the court," he said.

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British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that he was "particularly concerned" at what he called the "politically motivated persecution" of Lai and called for his release.

"As a prominent and outspoken ... publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association," Cameron said.

"I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai," he said.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller also called for the businessman's release.

"Actions that stifle press freedom ... have undermined Hong Kong's democratic institutions," Miller said.

In reaction to the statements, Beijing accused London and Washington of violating the "spirit of the rule of law."

 "The United States and United Kingdom's remarks on the case ... are in serious violation of the spirit of the rule of law, and ... they constitute blatant political maneuvering and are a complete (example of) double standards," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular press briefing.

sdi/fb (AFP, dpa, Reuters)