Lai’s trial to set gauge for other natl security cases

Anti-government media tycoon in Hong Kong Jimmy Lai, who is considered a “modern-day traitor” for his notorious acts and deeds in instigating one of the most violent and chaotic riots in the city in 2019, is scheduled to appear at a local court Saturday as he was formally charged under the national security law for Hong Kong.

Legal experts said the trial would become “an important gauge” for other national security lawrelated cases, testing the integrity of Hong Kong law enforcement and legal system.

After a thorough investigation by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force, the 72-year-old man was charged with an additional offense of “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security,” the Hong Kong Police Force (HKFP) confirmed with the Global Times on Friday, when asked about Lai’s case. The case will be heard at the West Kowloon Magistracy on Saturday morning.

“The ruling of this case will have much significance on Hong Kong society. However, how severe a punishment Lai would face depends on the evidence, which will also test the legal system of Hong Kong on national security-related cases,” said Li Xiaobing, an expert on Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan studies at Nankai University in Tianjin.

When asked about whether the case of Lai signaled a crackdown on freedom of speech and freedom of the press using the excuse of national security, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said on Friday that it’s not China, but some other countries that arbitrarily crack down on Chinese individuals, institutions and enterprises in the name of “national security.”

Those who lost their freedom were colluding with foreign forces, or used so-called “freedom” to engage in activities endangering the stability and freedom of Hong Kong, Hua at Friday’s media briefing.