I never tried to get foreign officials to act against Hong Kong, Lai tells courtroom

The pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai has said he never tried to influence foreign policy or ask foreign officials to take concrete action on Hong Kong, on his first day giving evidence at his national security trial.

- Helen Davidson

However, he "hoped against hope" that Donald Trump would stop Beijing imposing its national security law on the city, and sought to have Apple Daily's coverage of the then president be less critical.

Lai has been charged with one count of conspiracy to publish seditious publications and two counts of conspiracy to foreign collusion, under the city's punitive national security law (NSL), introduced in 2020. Yesterday, Lai stridently defended himself against the charges and spoke proudly of the media company he founded, which has been a thorn in the side of Beijing and the Hong Kong government for decades.

Lai said: "To participate in delivering freedom was a very good idea for me at that time. The more information you have, the more you are in the know and the more you are free."

The 76-year-old has not been heard in public since he pleaded not guilty in January. Yesterday morning he was led into court by three police officers, and waved at supporters and family in the public gallery. Prosecutors have alleged Lai asked the US and other countries to impose sanctions or "engage in other hostile activities" against China and Hong Kong, in response to the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement after the protests in 2019.