The trial of prominent Hong Kong business tycoon-turned-activist Jimmy Lai will begin next week. He faces life in prison for charges under a controversial national security law.
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00:00 From the front of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests,
00:05 to a police raid and handcuffs,
00:08 media tycoon and democracy activist Jimmy Lai
00:11 has spent the past three years in prison,
00:14 accused of sedition and colluding with foreign forces.
00:17 He is the most prominent person to be charged
00:19 under Hong Kong's sweeping national security laws,
00:22 and his trial is finally set to begin.
00:25 The reason we have to fight for it
00:29 is fighting for our dignity.
00:31 I think once we give up,
00:34 we're giving up fighting for our freedom and democracy,
00:40 we're kind of giving up our dignity as a human.
00:43 Lai founded the Apple Daily newspaper,
00:45 known for its critical reporting on the Chinese government
00:48 and strong support for Hong Kong's 2019 pro-democracy movement.
00:53 Lai was arrested in 2020
00:55 when 200 police officers raided the newspaper's offices.
00:59 In the three years since then,
01:00 he's been convicted on lesser charges
01:03 of illegal assembly and fraud,
01:05 but he faces life in prison if found guilty
01:08 under the national security law.
01:10 Beijing put the law into effect in 2020
01:13 to quash pro-democracy movements.
01:15 It's been widely criticized by human rights groups.
01:18 We found that in Hong Kong,
01:20 national security is frequently being used as a pretext
01:24 to curb voices of opposition.
01:27 And the national security law itself
01:29 has given the Hong Kong authorities
01:31 very powerful tools by which they can curb
01:36 freedom of expression and other human rights.
01:39 Lai's trial has drawn international attention.
01:42 Though he is a UK citizen,
01:44 his request for a British lawyer was denied.
01:47 Instead, he will face a panel of hand-picked judges
01:51 without a jury.
01:53 His son has been traveling the world,
01:54 speaking out on behalf of his 76-year-old father.
01:57 Hong Kong has always been a litmus test
02:00 for how China views the world
02:02 and how they view the liberties
02:04 that we have in the free world.
02:06 Now, my father stood really at the front of that.
02:16 He was the, I mean, he is the oldest political prisoner
02:20 in Hong Kong.
02:21 Lai's arrest in 2020 was a milestone
02:23 in the decline of press freedom in Hong Kong.
02:27 His conviction would represent the final nail in its coffin.
02:31 Chris Ma and Harrell Hughes for Taiwan Plus.
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