Didn’t ask U.S. to take action against Hong Kong, says Lai

He is accused of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications

Former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai denied in his landmark national security trial on Wednesday that he had asked then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to take action against the city and China during the territory’s anti-government protests in 2019.

Mr. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily pro-democracy newspaper, was arrested in 2020 in the crackdown that followed the protests. He is accused of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to issue seditious publications. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison.

He testified about his meetings with former U.S. officials and gave details about his alleged political connections with people in the U.S., Britain and Taiwan, including Taiwan ex-President Tsai Ing-wen and Hong Kong’s last British governor, Chris Patten.

The media tycoon, who also describes himself as a businessman and social activist, said he never tried to influence foreign policy on Hong Kong or China through the people he met overseas or ask them to take action against them.

Mr. Lai’s case is widely seen as a measure of media freedom and judicial independence in the Asian financial hub.

Mr. Lai testified in English that he asked Mr. Pence to voice his support for Hong Kong during a 2019 visit to the U.S. But he said he did not ask the U.S. government to act, saying, “It’s beyond me.”

During the same trip Mr. Lai also met with Mr. Pompeo and had a similar discussion about the situation in Hong Kong, he said.

When Mr. Lai’s lawyer, Steven Kwan, asked him whether he had requested the U.S. to do something at that meeting, Lai said “not to do something but to say something. To voice out its support for Hong Kong.”

Beijing promised to retain the former British colony’s civil liberties for 50 years when it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. But critics say that promise has become threadbare under the rubric of maintaining national security.

Dozens of people stood in the rain to secure a seat in the courtroom.

The trial will continue on Thursday (November 21, 2024).

Published - November 21, 2024 11:28 am IST