Defence set to take centre stage in HK media tycoon’s trial

National security court case now likely to run into June instead of ending in mid-May

- Magdalene Fung

HONG KONG – Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai's national security trial entered a new phase on May 13, with the defence set to take centre stage after the prosecution's key witnesses finished testifying the previous week.

The trial, which began on Dec 18, 2023, was at first expected to be wrapped up by mid-May but is now likely to extend into June.

Until now, the trial has mostly heard the testimonies and cross-examinations of the prosecution's six witnesses.

As Lai's lawyers prepare to mount their defence, they have made known their plans to have at least five police officers testify, as well as to play in court 35 hours of an interview show hosted by Lai.

On May 13, Lai's legal team applied to call the prosecution's first witness, former Apple Daily publisher Cheung Kim Hung, back to the stand on the grounds that meeting records he mentioned in his testimony were not made known to the defence until his cross-examination in January. The application was adjourned until May 14.

Diplomats and civil society groups are closely watching the developments in the landmark trial of Lai, a prominent pro-democracy advocate and long-time critic of China's Communist Party. Lai, 76, the founder of the nowdefunct Apple Daily newspaper, is the highest-profile figure to face prosecution so far under a Beijing-imposed national security law.