All eyes on Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai as high-stakes national security trial gets under way

In a case closely watched around the world, the 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper is facing three conspiracy charges relating to sedition and collusion with foreign forces for allegedly drawing international sanctions against authorities and inciting public hatred in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019.

The opening of what is slated to be an 80-day trial at West Kowloon Court in Cheung Sha Wan attracted a wide range of interested parties on Monday including Lai’s family, foreign diplomats, press freedom observers and a former Catholic Church leader, with a heavy police presence also on show.

The proceedings also sparked a fresh war of words between the Chinese government and Western counterparts, with Beijing hitting back at their “double standards” in condemning the trial and pressuring for Lai’s release.

Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, who is in Beijing for his annual duty visit to the central government, also weighed in, urging critics not to interfere with the courts, saying he had full confidence in their impartiality and in the city’s rule of law.

Hours before the trial began, dozens of people queued outside the court building hoping to catch a glimpse of Lai, who has spent three years behind bars since first being denied bail in December 2020.

Lai turned 76 in the maximum-security Stanley Prison earlier this month, his fourth birthday in jail. He has been detained for more than 1,100 days.