Conspiracy to commit journalism: The indefinite trial of pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong

Jimmy Lai, renowned publisher, writer, pro-democracy advocate, and founder of now-shuttered newspaper Apple Daily, underwent 64th day of trial on April 23 in West Kowloon Court of Hong Kong for alleged crimes of sedition and collusion with foreign forces.

The pro-democracy media tycoon has been charged with “conspiracy to commit journalism”. 

The trial focuses upon the articles, advertising and editorial slant of his Apple Daily, the most popular independent Chinese language newspaper in Hong Kong until its forced closure in 2021.

Lai, who has always been an outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), has been incarcerated since December, 2020, following his detention during a sweeping clampdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists under a national security law China imposed on Hong Kong four years ago. 

According to a report by The Epoch Times, Chan Tsz-wah, a legal assistant and the fifth “accomplice witness,” told the court, where Jimmy Lai is undergoing trials, that before the Hong Kong National Security Law was implemented in 2020, he advised 76-year-old Lai to prioritize his personal safety and leave. However, the latter refused, replying that he was “prepared to fight till the end.”

Jimmy Lai is one of the most high-profile figures to be charged under the draconian national security law, which criminalizes anything the Chinese Communist Party considers secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with a foreign country, according to The Epoch Times.

According to American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) that promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists, Beijing proscribes many subjects considered legitimate grist for news and commentary in the Western press, including the personal lives, financial dealings, and behind-the-scenes political maneuverings of national leaders. 

Some press freedom advocates fear that this constricted view could eventually prevail in Hong Kong, at least in regard to coverage of the Chinese government, as per CPJ.

The organization added that by Beijing’s standards, many of the major news stories of the last two decades, such as Kurt Waldheim’s Nazi past, Watergate, or the scandals that have tarred the ruling elite in Japan, would have been inappropriate subjects for media scrutiny. 

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Apr 11 claimed that Press freedom in Hong Kong has been “fully protected” since the territory’s handover to China a quarter of century ago.

However, according to the Paris-headquartered international non-profit and non-governmental organization focused on safeguarding the right to freedom of information, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the press freedom in Hong Kong is in free fall.

RSF has found multiple facts, including detentions of journalists, media closures, and harassment of free press defenders, that demonstrate Hong Kong’s deteriorating media freedom.

As per RSF reports, till date, ten journalists and press freedom advocates have been detained in Hong Kong, including Jimmy Lai, while independent media outlets Apple Daily and Stand News were forcibly shut down in 2021. 

It added that the climate of fear led at least five other media outlets to cease operations, and most recently, broadcaster Radio Free Asia (RFA) also announced its bureau closure, citing security concerns.

According to RSF, draconian national security and sedition provisions pose a constant threat to journalists. 

The Paris-based organization said since 2020, at least 28 journalists had been prosecuted for crimes against the state under the National Security Law (NSL) imposed by Beijing as well as other laws. 

Last month, the authorities adopted the “Article 23” law, which transposes in the domestic law the NSL provisions and introduces new offences such as espionage, according to reports.

Meanwhile, press freedom organisations and journalist associations have been harassed in Hong Kong for years, while a large number of Hong-Kong based journalists experienced being followed and surveilled and hundreds of them were forced to go on exile, according to reports. 

News articles and op-eds are used as evidence in court against press freedom defenders and journalists in Hong Kong, as per reports. 

The organization said that Hong Kong ranks 140th out of 180 in RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index, having plummeted from 18th place in two decades, while China itself ranks 179th out of 180 countries and territories evaluated.

(ENDS)

—