And it's his advocacy against Beijing in the United Kingdom that he's wanted for. He was detained while working as a trade officer at the British consulate in Hong Kong. So this month, for example, Hong Kong's government issued more arrest warrants offering rewards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for anyone who could turn in five activists who live outside of Hong Kong. And they're also going after people living abroad. They've sentenced many activists and lawmakers who spoke out or protested, sometimes years before the national security law took effect. Independent media outlets have mostly closed, like Apple Daily, or a few people who haven't been arrested have moved abroad. I mean, they've basically smothered all opposition in Hong Kong. MARTIN: Are other people besides Lai being targeted by authorities?įENG: Oh, absolutely. But if you essentially criminalize journalism, you know, just supporting democracy, well, it's very hard to do that.įENG: He says his father's case is being turned into a political show for Beijing to show just how aggressively it will punish any dissent. SEBASTIEN LAI: Hong Kong is trying to tell the rest of the world that they're open for business, that they want foreign direct investment. Here's Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, who lives in Taiwan. There were journalists outside the courthouse, a few supporters, but mostly hundreds of police guarding the courthouse where he's being tried. This is a closely watched trial in Hong Kong today. He's currently serving a five-year sentence for fraud, but today he's on trial for much more serious charges of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law. This was an influential tabloid that was unabashedly in support of democratic reform and anti-government protests, and that put Lai in the crosshairs. And his fortune is what kept Apple Daily going. Everyone in Hong Kong knows his story - how he escaped as a child stowaway to Hong Kong and then had this extraordinary rise as a textile and clothing mogul. MARTIN: So why is Hong Kong prosecuting Lai so aggressively?įENG: Well, because Jimmy Lai has become a symbol of opposition against Beijing's control of the region. Good morning, Emily.ĮMILY FENG, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel. MARTIN: With us to explain why this trial is so important is NPR's Emily Feng, who is nearby in Taiwan. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. China's prosecuting Lai under the country's sweeping national security law. The newspaper he started, called Apple Daily, was shut down the following year. Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon and democracy activist, is going to court after more than 1,000 days in detention. A major trial is kicking off in Hong Kong this week.
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