Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai called on US to impose ‘very draconian’ sanctions against Beijing, court hears in mogul’s past interviews
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Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying urged the US to use its “moral authority” to impose “very draconian” sanctions on mainland China, prosecutors told the court on Tuesday, as they played footage from the publisher’s past media interviews.
Prosecutors at the West Kowloon Court played six interview clips that showed Lai expressing support for foreign interference in local affairs. The footage all dated back to before Beijing imposed the national security law on June 30, 2020.
The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper on Tuesday also pleaded not guilty to three counts of conspiracy, one of which involved the city’s colonial-era sedition law and the other two focused on collusion with foreign forces.
The latter offence is prohibited under the national security law, which also bans acts of secession, subversion and terrorism.
Lai is accused of attracting international sanctions and inciting public hatred towards central and local authorities in the wake of the 2019 anti-government protests.