Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai ‘guarded’ in interviews after national security law passed

Former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying returned to West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong on Monday to testify for a fourth week in his high-profile trial, answering questions over his state of mind after the enactment of the Beijing-decreed national security law on June 30, 2020.

The 77-year-old has spent 12 days in the witness box after pleading not guilty to two charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the security law, and a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications in breach of colonial-era legislation.

The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper last Friday told the court he had been “cautious” over the terms of the national security law, and aware that calling for foreign authorities to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China would “cross the red line”.

The court was shown a chat record from July 1, 2020, between Lai, his associates and other individuals to whom he had sent out mass messages. In some of his messages, Lai said the national security law was far more draconian than he had expected.

He admitted he could have left Hong Kong illegally if he was “determined” enough to do so, but never wanted to.

After deciding to stay, he realised the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong had to adopt a “very different” approach. He added that he had pledged at the time to continue working with those who were still keen on pressing ahead with the movement.