Jimmy Lai's bid to end trial dismissed by judges

The High Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region said on Thursday that prosecutors appear to have sufficient evidence to proceed with the national security trial of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, and dismissed the defendant's bid to end the trial.

The three judges designated to hear Lai's case told the court they had found that Lai has "a case to answer" on the three charges against him — two counts of collusion with foreign forces, which violates the National Security Law for Hong Kong, and a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications — as the high-profile case entered its 92nd day since the trial began on Dec 18.

The trial will be adjourned until Nov 20; the defense said that Lai has chosen to defend himself in court.

Under Hong Kong's legal system, if a defendant in a trial pleads not guilty and the prosecution completes its examination of the witnesses and closes the case, the court will consider if there is a "case to answer".

If there is, this indicates that the evidence presented by the prosecution has been deemed strong enough to support pursuing the allegations, and the trial can proceed. Otherwise, the accused will be acquitted.

Earlier in the trial, Lai's legal team said that his cooperation with different organizations and his publication of materials encouraging international sanctions against Hong Kong and the nation took place before the NSL's implementation on June 30, 2021.

The defense said that fulfilling those agreements had been frustrated by the implementation of the NSL, and that the prosecution would only be able to establish what Lai's intentions were before the implementation of the NSL.

The prosecution said the agreements that Lai had signed did not automatically expire following the implementation of the NSL, and Lai's interviews, op-ed articles, and the testimony of witnesses and other evidence show that Lai continued to participate in the same activities after the implementation of the NSL.

The sedition charge and one of the collusion charges were also brought against three Apple Daily-related companies.

An additional collusion charge against Lai has been left on court file at the prosecution's request.

According to the NSL, a person who is convicted of colluding with external forces to endanger national security in a grave manner could be sentenced to life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of no less than 10 years.