Court evidence has overwhelmingly detailed Jimmy Lai's foreign collusion and sanction advocacy

After 37 weeks and 146 days of proceedings, Jimmy Lai's trial on two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and one count of conspiring to publish seditious materials entered closing submissions on August 14.

The foreign-backed smear campaigns, involving Lai's son Sebastian Lai and self-proclaimed international lawyers, aim to interfere with the trial, but court evidence has overwhelmingly detailed Lai's foreign collusions, sanction advocacy and media incitement against the government.

Testimony exposed Lai's 2019 meetings with then-U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, arranged via aide Mark Simon and ex-White House adviser John Bolton, where he pushed for sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials.

He also met House Speaker Nancy Pelosi through Martin Lee and lobbied anti-China U.S. senators to support protest violence.

Lai facilitated U.S.-Taiwan links to advance containment policies, admitting he secretly hired two retired U.S. officers in 2017 for Taiwanese military advice, paying over HK$20 million to update its outdated systems.

From 2013 to 2020, he wired HK$120 million to Simon, redirecting HK$93 million to opposition groups like the Democratic Party, Civic Party, Hong Kong Alliance and "Fight and Burn" team. He approved HK$5 million for G20 global ads to amplify Hong Kong unrest internationally.

Post-National Security Law, Lai continued sanction pushes. In July 2020, he shared White House leaks on Trump's Hong Kong executive order with ex-Apple Daily deputy publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Law Wai-kwong and opposition leaders Lam Cheuk-ting and Lee Cheuk-yan, tasking Chan with sanction list drafts.

His "Live Chat With Jimmy Lai" show and columns repeatedly called for halting chip exports to China and trade restrictions, with evidence showing he wanted Trump's hardline stance to persist for U.S.-China decoupling.

Lai manipulated Apple Daily's content to fuel protests and excuse violence, admitting editorial directives like amplifying Anson Chan's Pence meeting in 2019 and a 2020 front-page "One Person, One Letter" campaign urging anti-security law letters to Trump.

He spread false reports smearing authorities and police to drive street action.

In 2019 anti-extradition buildup, he messaged Cheung Kim-hung and Chan to maximise coverage inciting turnout. After the Legislative Council storming, he instructed sympathetic riot coverage to garner youth sympathy and justify their "plight," ensuring the movement continued.

In October and November, he arranged "Dragon Slaying Brigade" interviews glorifying violence, plus a "Support Students Subscription Plan" to foster government hatred and illegal youth involvement.

Observers say the trial revealed Lai's persistent foreign ties, post-law sanction calls and media hate-mongering, gravely undermining Hong Kong stability, with his contradictory testimony only bolstering the robust evidence against him.