The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper has contested two counts of foreign collusion, with authorities accusing him of using various platforms to lobby Western nations to sanction China and Hong Kong.
The charges are brought under the city's national security law, which Beijing imposed in 2020 after the finance hub saw huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests the year before.
Defence lawyer Robert Pang told the court it was "not wrong" to support freedom of expression and human rights.
"It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy... Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration, or even the country," he added.
Aside from the collusion offence -- which could land him in prison for life -- Lai is also charged with "seditious publication" related to 161 articles, including op-eds carrying his byline.
Pang began his closing arguments by pointing to three Apple Daily news articles that prosecutors deemed seditious.
"It's factual reporting," he said, adding that the 161 items made up a tiny fraction of the newspaper's output.
But judge Esther Toh countered that it was "pointless" to play a numbers game, adding that the judges had already gone through the articles carefully.
- 'Not credible' testimony -
Earlier in the day, prosecutor Anthony Chau challenged Lai's courtroom testimony -- which spanned more than 50 days -- as "not credible".
The portrayal of Apple Daily as a "neutral defender of Hong Kong's core values" was "utterly misleading", Chau told judges.
"(Lai) and Apple Daily were anti-communist for many years," he said, adding that the tycoon "glorified violence, mutual destruction and martyrdom against the (Chinese Communist Party) regime".
The prosecutor also pointed to a trove of communications, some on WhatsApp, that allegedly tied Lai to political figures in the United States and a plan to lobby for Western sanctions against China and Hong Kong around the time of the 2019 protests.
"(Lai) was clearly a betrayer of national interests," he said, wrapping up his case after two and half days.
Lai was attentive during Wednesday's hearing, waving and gesturing to family and supporters in the public gallery when he entered the courtroom.
The septuagenarian was outfitted with a heart rate monitor and prescribed medication after the defence said last week that Lai was experiencing heart palpitations.
Concerns have been raised previously over Lai's health by his family and rights groups.
The media tycoon has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, and has lost weight during that time.
The Hong Kong government has said Lai was receiving "adequate and comprehensive" medical care, with a senior medical officer earlier declaring him "physically and mentally fit for court".
UK grants asylum to Hong Kong democracy activist Tony Chung
London (AFP) Aug 18, 2025 - Hong Kong democracy activist Tony Chung, who once called for the city's independence and was the youngest person to be jailed under its national security law, has been granted asylum in the UK.
Chung, 24, posted a letter from the UK interior ministry on his Instagram page on Sunday, which read: "Your claim for asylum has been successful and you have been granted refugee status."
UK authorities accepted that Chung has a "well-founded fear of persecution and therefore cannot return to your country".
He has been granted a five-year residence permit and will be able to apply for permanent residence.
"The moment I received this notification, my feelings were truly indescribable," Chung wrote on Instagram.
"My first reaction was sheer excitement... however, this sense of possibility has brought me fear -- fear of planning for the future," he added.
"All I can say is that I won't give up, and I don't want to give up," he vowed.
Hong Kong's government on Monday issued a statement saying it "strongly demands that foreign governments immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are purely China's internal affairs".
It said that "any arrest and prosecution are based on facts and evidence, and is directed against the criminal act and has nothing to do with the political stance, background, thought or speech of the person(s) concerned".
Beijing imposed its national security law on Hong Kong in 2020 after months of huge and often violent pro-democracy protests in the former British colony.
In 2021, Chung, then 20, became the youngest person to be jailed under the security law after he pleaded guilty to "secession" and was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.
He fled to Britain in 2023 and applied for political asylum upon entry, saying he had been closely watched by Hong Kong's national security police despite his jail term having ended early for good behaviour.
Chung, who said he has suffered from depression since his detention, was previously the convenor of Student Localism, a small group he set up as a secondary school pupil to advocate for Hong Kong's independence from China.
Separation from China was then a fringe view in Hong Kong although calls for self-rule became more vocal during the 2019 protests.
In 2020, Chung was nabbed by plainclothes police from a coffee shop opposite the US consulate in Hong Kong, where he was allegedly planning to seek asylum.
Chung revealed the news of his successful asylum bid the day after the former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui said he had been granted asylum in Australia.
Chung and Hui are among dozens of activists targeted with bounties by Hong Kong authorities.
Political dissent in Hong Kong has been quashed since Beijing imposed the security law, with many opposition figures fleeing abroad and others sentenced to years in jail.
Former pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker granted asylum in Australia
Sydney (AFP) Aug 17, 2025 - Former pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui who is wanted by the Chinese city has been granted asylum in Australia, he said in a social media post, calling on Canberra to do more for those who remain jailed.
The former British colony -- handed back to China in 1997 -- has seen dissent quashed since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law following huge and at times violent democracy protests that erupted in 2019.
Hui, a high-profile participant at the time who has since resettled in Adelaide, said the Australian government had granted him a protection visa this week, with asylum also extending to his wife, children and parents.
"I express my sincere gratitude to the Government of Australia -- both present and former -- for recognising our need for asylum and granting us this protection," he said in a Facebook post on Saturday.
A vocal critic of Hong Kong and Beijing authorities, Hui is among several overseas activists targeted in 2023 by police bounties of HK$1 million each.
The bounties, which have previously drawn strong criticism from Western countries, are seen as largely symbolic given that they affect people living abroad in nations unlikely to extradite political activists to Hong Kong or China.
In this Facebook post, Hui urged the Australian government not to forget other Hong Kong activists who remained jailed, including tycoon Jimmy Lai, who has been behind bars since 2020.
"Australia must do more to rescue them and to speak up for their humanity," Hui said. "Its stance matters internationally, and its protection of Hongkongers sets a precedent for other democracies."
He added that he and his family will "give back to Australia in every way we can -- through our work, our civic engagement, and our commitment to the values of democracy and freedom".
While Hong Kong's government did not comment directly on Hui's case, a spokesperson said Saturday those who absconded should not think they could evade "criminal liability".
"Any country that harbours Hong Kong criminals in any form shows contempt for the rule of law, grossly disrespects Hong Kong's legal systems and barbarically interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong," the spokesperson said.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong has previously objected Hong Kong's arrest warrants and bounties.
"Freedom of expression and assembly are essential to our democracy," she said last month on social media.
"We have consistently expressed our strong objections to China and Hong Kong on the broad and extraterritorial application of Hong Kong's national security legislation, and we will continue to do so."
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