Hong Kong court reserves verdict in pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial

A Hong Kong court said it will deliver its verdict in media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial at a later date, after closing submissions concluded on Thursday, in a case that has drawn global attention as a test of the rule of law in the Chinese-ruled financial hub.

The 156-day trial, which began in December 2023, has become the most high-profile example of China’s crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub under a sweeping national security law that was imposed after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

When asked to give an indication of the verdict date, one of the three judges Esther Toh said this would be announced ”in good time”.

The 77-year-old Lai, who is the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Some countries such as the U.S. say the trial is politically motivated and have demanded Lai’s immediate release. The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say he is being given a fair trial.

Lai, who faces possible life imprisonment, stands accused of using the Apple Daily as a platform to conspire with six former executives and others to produce seditious publications between April 2019 and June 2021 and to collude with foreign forces between July 2020 and June 2021.

He was accused of conspiring with activist Andy Li, paralegal Chan Tsz-wah and others to invite foreign countries, including the U.S., Britain and Japan to impose sanctions, blockades and other hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. He was also accused of financing advocacy group Stand with Hong Kong.

During the submissions, Lai’s lawyer Marc Corlett said there was no evidence his client directed or agreed with any of his alleged co-conspirators to continue such actions against Hong Kong and China after the security law took effect.

Corlett described the accomplice witness Chan Tsz-wah as a ”serial liar” while saying Li had engaged in activities that violated the NSL of his ”own volition” without any involvement from Lai.

He added that merely following the Twitter accounts of Stand with Hong Kong and another group critical of Beijing, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, did not amount to support for them.

Another lawyer for Lai, Robert Pang, said the 161 articles cited by the prosecution were not seditious and the press should be given ”greater latitude” of freedom of expression.

”ARMCHAIR PUNDITRY”

Another judge Alex Lee, said this case was about determining whether Lai made a request to foreign governments to place sanctions on Hong Kong and China, and had ”nothing to do with journalism”.

Pang also said Lai’s ”armchair punditry” on social media and live chats were just ”pure commentary”, including one instance where Lai warned the only way for China to reconcile with the world would be when Communist Party leader Xi Jinping steps down.

”He’s commenting on world affairs, something that we see every day in cha chaan tengs or over the dim sum table,” Pang said, referring to Hong Kong’s famed diners and bite-sized dishes.

But Justice Toh said a live online chat was very different from a talk between two old men over dim sum. She added freedom of expression has limits, citing examples in the U.S. and Britain of people being arrested for protests related to Palestine.

”It’s good to say la-di-da, freedom of expression is not illegal. Well, that’s true, but it’s not an absolute.”