Former media boss and opposition activist Jimmy Lai Chee-ying took to the witness stand for the first time on Wednesday in his high-profile national security trial, admitting he had donated money to local and overseas groups but denying that he used those connections to manipulate foreign policies on Hong Kong and mainland China.
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Beijing rebuffed criticism by Western politicians of Lai’s prosecution, branding him as a “pawn of anti-China forces” as the trial of the owner of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid resumed at West Kowloon Court on a rainy morning.
The 76-year-old has been detained for nearly four years under the 2020 national security law for allegedly instigating international sanctions, a trade blockade and other hostile activities in a conspiracy involving local journalists, foreign politicians and activists.
On the 93rd day of his trial, Lai, dressed in a green shirt and brown blazer, took the Catholic oath as dozens of people, including his wife and daughter as well as Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the retired bishop of Hong Kong, watched from the public gallery.
In 6½ hours of testimony that covered a wide range of topics, Lai lifted the lid on the expansive overseas network he had developed over the years. Among others, he had befriended former Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen, ex-Hong Kong governor Chris Patten and numerous powerful political figures in Washington.
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