Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai to take witness stand in collusion trial

” MEDIA BUSINESS AS PLATFORM”

Lai faces one count of” crime to publish seditious papers” as well as two counts of crime to international cooperation.

His personal interviews and social media posts are among the matters he faces in the case against him, which include 161 posts in Apple Daily.

Following police raids and the detention of its top readers, the paper was forced to close in 2021.

The prosecutors charged Lai and six Apple Daily top executives with conspiring with foreigners and using the media industry to” mix up opposition to the government” through collusion.

Lots of local and foreign officials and scholars- including former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo- were named by the trial as Lai’s “agents”, “intermediaries” or” partners”.

Additionally, Lai is accused of supporting two younger protesters who use a opposition party called” Stand With Hong Kong” to lobby for international sanctions.

Five of the six directors and two activists who testified against Lai have admitted guilt.

Problems FOR HEALTH

Next month, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told parliament that Lai, who holds American citizen, was” a goal” for his Communist authorities.

Starmer and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the subject during a Monday meet.

Lai’s son had recently stated that the English government needed to give him “much stronger” support because his health” could potentially get significantly worse.”

A top American rights lawyer leads a legal group that has filed numerous complaints to the UN regarding arbitrary detention and extended solitary confinement.

On Sunday, the Hong Kong government condemned the constitutional group for” spreading misinformation”, saying that Lai himself had requested to be kept apart from other inmates.

” The false remarks… are totally fact-twisting and are simply a despicable social manoeuvre with destructive intention”, the authorities said in a statement.

Robertsons, a Hong Kong law company representing Lai in the test, has also brushed off some of the complaints.

In a statement released in September, the company stated that” Mr. Lai wishes to make known that he has been receiving appropriate medical care for his circumstances, including hyperglycemia.”

He cannot see the clouds, but he can see it through the windows in the hall outside his body. Every moment, he works out for an hour in a safe area.