Hong Kong court rejects bid to end national security trial against tycoon Jimmy Lai

HONG KONG: A Hong Kong court on May 29 rejected an application to terminate a landmark national security trial against media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a case that could see him spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.

Jimmy Lai, 75, is a leading pro-democracy writer in Hong Kong and one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China's Communist Party leadership, including President Xi Jinping.

Under the National Security Law, Lai and his three businesses, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited, faced a total of three charges, including collusion with foreign forces.

In 2020, Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong following months of anti-governmental protests. The law bans acts such as subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism with up to life in prison.

Lai is charged with conspiracy to publish seditious periodicals linked to Apple Daily, which closed in June 2021 after police arrested its staff and assets were frozen by authorities. A maximum of two years in prison can be imposed on those charged with sedition.

Lai has pleaded not guilty and has been in detention for more than two years. He will start his trial in September.

Lai's lawyer, Robert Pang, sought to abolish the case, claiming the court has been biased against Lai because of a lack of transparency in the selection of national security judges by Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee.

If there is any question about the independence and impartiality of the court that cannot be allowed, Pang said.