Sebastien Lai, son of imprisoned Hong Kong media publisher Jimmy Lai, showed a picture of his father, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva in February. Lai’s trial resumed Monday after pausing Friday for Lai’s heart issues. File Photo by Salvatore Di Nolfi/EPA
Aug. 18 (UPI) — A court in Hong Kong resumed closing arguments in the criminal trial of media mogul Jimmy Lai on charges of sedition and collusion with foreign powers.
The trial had paused Friday because Lai, 77, was having heart issues. Lai was given medication and a Holter monitor, which tracks the heart’s electrical activity. The trial had also been delayed Thursday because of torrential rain in the city.
Judge Esther Toh said extra breaks could be allowed for Lai if needed.
Lai, a citizen of the United Kingdom, founded Apple Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. The tabloid has been described as anti-government, pro-democracy and anti-China.
He is accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. He has been in solitary confinement since December 2020. He faces life in prison.
Prosecutors have accused Lai of requesting foreign countries to engage in “hostile activities,” such as imposing sanctions, against authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China.
He allegedly conspired with senior editorial staff of Apple Daily and was the “mastermind and financial supporter” of the Fight for Freedom; Stand with Hong Kong advocacy group, which lobbied for international sanctions against Hong Kong and China.
Lai denied in court that he had ever sought to influence the Hong Kong policies of other countries via his high-level contacts overseas, including former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Questioned about meetings with Pence and then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019, Lai said the meeting with Pence was more of a briefing where he updated him and answered questions about what was going on in Hong Kong
Lai, who was noticeably thinner Monday than when the trial began in late 2023, was dressed in a white jacket in the glass dock and pressed his palms together in a prayer gesture several times to his family and supporters, the Independent reported.
The prosecutor discussed the security law concerning the collusion charges, arguing that the request to impose sanctions must include officials and not just states.
He planned to lay out other issues in the afternoon and make his closing statement on Tuesday.
Lai is among hundreds of people who have been detained and charged under the controversial National Security Law, which critics say have silenced dissent in Hong Kong. Beijing justifies that the law is needed to maintain stability in the city.