Hong Kong prosecutors allege democracy publisher Jimmy Lai urged protests, sanctions against China

By ZEN SOO
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Prosecutors have alleged that Hong Kong activist and publisher Jimmy Lai had encouraged the city’s residents to protest and urged the U.S. to take action against the “totalitarian” Chinese authorities in Beijing. The 76-year-old media tycoon who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was arrested in 2020 during a crackdown on massive pro-democracy protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019. The central government in Beijing responded by imposing a sweeping national security law aimed at stamping down opposition. Lai has been in jail for over three years. He has denied the charges. His national security trial is being closely watched by foreign governments, business professionals and legal scholars. Many view it as as a test for judicial independence in the Asian financial hub.