Jimmy Lai testifies for first time in Hong Kong national security trial

Stay informed with free updates

Simply sign up to the Chinese politics & policy myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.

Jimmy Lai, the billionaire former Hong Kong media mogul, testified in his defence for the first time on Wednesday in a watershed national security trial that could land him in prison for life.

Lai, 77, who is one of the Chinese territory’s most prominent democracy champions and an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist party, said he was motivated by the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre to launch a media empire.

“I though it was a good opportunity for somebody like me, a businessman who made some money . . . to participate in delivering freedom,” said Lai, who faces charges of colluding with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material.

Lai, a British citizen, added that he “always oppose[d] violence in any form”, referring to Hong Kong’s 2019 anti-government protests. Authorities have sought to cast Lai as a mastermind of the movement.

He added that the idea of Hong Kong seeking independence from Beijing, as some protesters had advocated, was “too crazy to think about” and “never a reality”.

Lai’s hearing on Wednesday came one day after 45 prominent pro-democracy activists were sentenced to up to 10 years in prison in Hong Kong’s biggest national security trial, which drew condemnation from western governments and human rights groups.

It also coincided with a flagship investment summit that brought some of the biggest Wall Street names to Hong Kong this week. The territory has been working to revive its reputation as a global financial hub after Beijing’s political crackdown and coronavirus pandemic restrictions prompted the departure of many foreign businesses.

Jimmy Lai biography

1947 — Born in Guangdong province

1960 — Left mainland China for Hong Kong

1981 — Founded fashion retail chain Giordano. He was later forced to sell his shares under pressure from Beijing

1995 — Launched Apple Daily

2020 — Arrested under the Beijing-imposed national security law

2021 — Apple Daily forced to shut

Lai was arrested in 2020 under Beijing’s sweeping national security law, as authorities in Hong Kong cracked down on dissent in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019. His pro-democracy tabloid, Apple Daily, one of the city’s largest media outlets, was forced to shut down the following year after its assets were frozen and senior journalists arrested.

The prosecution has cited 161 Apple Daily articles and broadcasts as “seditious” and pointed to Lai’s meetings with US officials, including former vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo, as evidence of “colluding with foreign forces”.

More than 50 people queued for seats in the courtroom’s public gallery early on Wednesday morning for the 93rd day of Lai’s trial, which is being held without a jury and in front of a panel of three government-vetted national security case judges.