All eyes on Jimmy Lai trial

All eyes are on the trial of jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying for his collusion charge to start Monday, which is expected to take over 80 days.

The 76-year-old founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, and his three companies, Apple Daily, Apple Daily Printing and AD Internet, faced two counts of collusion with external elements endangering national security and another count of printing, publishing, selling, offering for sale, distributing, displaying or reproducing seditious publications.

The trial will start at 10am at West Kowloon Magistrates' Court, with national security judges Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios, and Alex Lee Wan-tang.

The case also involves six former Apple Daily executives who are charged with collusion with external elements to endanger national security.

However, they had pleaded guilty in November 2022, including former editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, 48; then publisher Cheung Kim-hung, 60; former executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, 52; former associate publisher Chan Pui-man, 52; and ex-editorial writers Fung Wai-kong, 58, and Yeung Ching-kee, 56.

Sources told Sing Tao Daily, The Standard's sister publication, that Lai has appointed lawyers to arrange for witnesses overseas to give evidence via livestreaming, but it has been rejected by the court.

The prosecution told the court earlier in August that Cheung, Chan, Yeung and former senior executive of Next Digital, Royston Chow Tat-kuen, who was also arrested in 2020 and Andy Li Yu-hin, one of the "12 fugitives," and legal assistant Chan Tsz-wah, will testify during the trial.

The prosecution will invite two expert witnesses, one will focus on the use of social media such as X, and another on the legal effect of sanctions. It is understood that one of the expert witnesses is Wang Guiguo, Chair Professor of Chinese an Comparative Law at the City University of Hong Kong. Wang is the husband of pro-Beijing lawmaker Priscilla Leung Mei-fun.

The defense lawyers told the court that they would argue on the admissibility of evidence that was given before national security law came into effect on June 30, 2020.

Lai has been in detention since he was arrested in 2020. He may face up to life imprisonment if convicted, while he has already been sentenced to five years and nine months in a separate case.

Ahead of Lai's trial, his third son, Sebastien Lai Sung-yan, 28, met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Tuesday to call on the UK's help in securing his father's release. He hoped the meeting with Cameron would add international pressure on the administration.

"The UK opposes the National Security Law and will continue to stand by Jimmy Lai and the people of Hong Kong," the Foreign Office said after the meeting.