TRANSCRIPT
The long-awaited trial of pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai has opened in Hong Kong.
He faces possible life imprisonment on charges he colluded with foreign forces, including the United States, under national security legislation imposed by China in 2020.
Mr Lai's son, Sebastien, says although he believes the outcome of his father's trial has already been decided, he's proud of him for standing up for his beliefs.
“Reflexively anxious, but there’s actually no anxiety involved once you think about it, because it’s a complete show trial. The result is already predetermined, it’s a trial with three government-appointed judges, no jury, and the security minister recently boasted of a 100% conviction rate. So, an absolute sham.”
Jimmy Lai is the founder of the now-closed pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, and one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China's Communist Party leadership.
The 76-year-old is already serving a five-years and nine-months jail term for a fraud conviction over a lease dispute for his newspaper, and has pleaded not guilty to all charges he faces in his new trial.
He's the first person to contest a foreign collusion charge under Hong Kong's national security law.
Sebastien Lai describes how he felt when he saw the condition his father was in through recently released news photographs.
"It’s a reminder that he is 76 and he’s been in solitary confinement for three years. It was pretty heart-breaking, but it was also the first time I saw him in three years, so in that sense it was bittersweet. At his age, at 75, obviously any day he every single day he spends in prison is another day that he could very well pass away. So incredibly worried about him, obviously the national security law has a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but even if it’s ten years, for example, that’s basically the same at his age.”
The case is seen by many as a trial for press freedom and a test for Hong Kong's judicial independence in the territory.
A number of Western governments have called for Mr Lai's release, saying the charges are politically motivated and part of a crackdown by China's government on the city's democratic opposition.
Jennifer Robinson is a barrister who is campaigning for his release.
She says much of the international community stands with the former media mogul.
"There is widespread condemnation of the prosecution against Jimmy Lai, the fact that he remains in prison. He's been in prison three years too long. He ought to be released immediately. He's in prison for exercising his internationally protected rights to freedom of expression, to freedom of assembly. And this is unacceptable. We've had the UN, the Canadian parliament, the EU, parliament and foreign governments like the United States call for his release."
Prior to the beginning of the trial, Sebastien Lai met UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron to lobby for the UK's help in securing his father's release from prison.
Lord Cameron has since called for the release of the British citizen in a significant intervention, and criticised the charges against Mr Lai.
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, has condemned the meeting, saying the Hong Kong government handled the case according to law.
“It is beyond reproach that the Hong Kong government holds him accountable in accordance with the law. The UK claims to be a country governed by the rule of law, but it blatantly interferes in the cases that have already entered the judicial procedures. The UK has just introduced a national security law, but it blatantly opposes China's national security legislation for Hong Kong. Its double standards and sinister intentions are exposed.”
The trial is expected to last at least 80 days, and authorities have revealed there will be 1,000 police officers on hand to guard the court.
