Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying deliberately fabricated a negative image of Beijing to create an excuse for Western interference, prosecutors have said, accusing him of having a “resolute” intent to press on with his efforts even after the national security law took effect five years ago.
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West Kowloon Court on Tuesday resumed hearing the prosecution’s closing remarks in the marathon national security trial of the Apple Daily founder, who is contesting three conspiracy counts of printing seditious publications and colluding with foreign forces.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang argued that Lai, through media interviews and commentary articles published in his now-defunct tabloid newspaper, falsely portrayed the central government as a persecutor and oppressor of Hong Kong’s freedom and rule of law in order to justify foreign countries’ interference in China’s internal affairs.
“If we look at the totality of [Lai’s] remarks as a whole, we can see … [he] tried to create a false impression [of the country] so that the external elements can punish the Chinese and Hong Kong governments,” he said.
Chau contended the newspaper founder’s indirect calls for sanctions included repeated endorsement of the United States’ revocation of Hong Kong’s preferential trade status and praise offered over the imposition of embargoes on hi-tech exports to mainland China.
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He also highlighted Lai’s call for the US government to raise concerns about Hong Kong’s human rights conditions in its trade talks to Beijing, but one of the three presiding High Court judges questioned how the move could be depicted as an attempt to trigger a hostile response from foreign states.