Getty imagesAr awakened by some people as a hero and intimidated by others as a traitor, Hong Kong’s pro -democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stages of its national security testing.
Closing argument The LAI was scheduled to begin on Thursday, which is accused of confrontation with foreign forces under the Beijing-Lagan National Security Act.
However, morning hearing has been postponed by a “black” rain warning – Hong Kong’s highest level warning – as a typhoon was swept away in the city on Thursday. If the weather warning is not raised till 11:00 local time (03:00 GMT), the hearing will be postponed for the rest of the day.
The trial has attracted international attention, a British Prime Minister Sir Kir Stmper has called for the release of LAI. The 77-year-old has British as well as Chinese citizenship-although China does not recognize dual nationality, and hence considers Lai especially Chinese.
Lai has been detained since December 2020 and has to face maximum punishment of life imprisonment if she is convicted.
Critics say the case of Lai shows how Hong Kong’s legal system has been armed to silence political opposition.
Lai is continuously fork in China’s favor. Unlike other tycoon reaching the top in Hong Kong, Sri Lai became one of the fiery critics of the Chinese state and was a prominent person advocating democracy in the former British region.
“I am a birth rebel,” he told the BBC in an interview in 2020, before he was charged. “I have a very rebellious character.”
He is the most prominent person accused under the controversial National Security Act, which was introduced by China in 2020, in response to mass protests that exploded a year ago in Hong Kong.
This law criminals a wide range of disgruntled acts that consider sabotage and isolation of Beijing with other things.
Beijing says the National Security Act is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong, but critics say it has effectively canceled dissatisfaction.
Over the years, Lai’s son Sebastian has called for his release. In February, Chhote Lai urged a starrer and US President Donald Trump to take immediate action, saying that his father’s “body is breaking”.
Next to the LAI test on Thursday, Sabstian told the BBC that even though his father had only met five years in jail, it was “practically similar to death sentence.”
“Looking at his age, looking at his health, yes. He will die in jail,” he said.
Sebastian stated that the LAI case was “important for China-UK relations”. If Lai dies, it will show that “as a nation [the UK] He said that when it matters, we did not stand for one of our brave.
Money
Lai was born in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, for a rich family, who took power in 1949.
He was 12 years old when he ran away from his village in the mainland China, reaching Hong Kong as a stoveway on a fishing boat.
He taught himself English while doing strange work and weaving in a small clothing shop. He eventually moved from a manless role for the establishment of a multi-silver dollar empire, including the international fabric brand Giaordano.
The series was a big success. But when China sent a new journey to the tank in 1989 to crush the pro-democracy protests at Tianmen Square, Beijing, Lai started a new journey as a vocal democracy worker as well as an entrepreneur.
He began writing columns criticizing the massacre after demonstrations in Beijing and established a publication house, which became one of the most influential Hong Kong.
RootsAs China replied, threatening to shut down its store on the mainland, inspiring them to sell the company, Lai launched a string of popular pro -democracy titles, which included the next, a digital magazine and widely read Apple Daily Newspaper.
Fearing Beijing in a local media scenario, Lai was a frequent critic of Chinese authorities through both his publications and writing.
This has seen him becoming a hero for many people in Hong Kong, who see him as a person of courage who took great risk to defend the city’s freedom.
But on the mainland he is seen as a “traitor” that endangens the Chinese national security.
In recent years, the masked attackers fired LAI’s house and the company’s headquarters. He was also aiming for a murder conspiracy.
But no threats stopped him from strengthening his thoughts. He was a major part of the city’s pro -democracy demonstrations and was arrested twice on allegations of illegal assembly in 2021.
Getty imagesWhen China passed the new National Security Act of Hong Kong in June 2020, Lai told the BBC that it looks “Death Nail” for the region.
The influential entrepreneur also warned that Hong Kong would become corrupt like China. Without the rule of law, he said, its prestigious position as a global financial center would be “completely destroyed”.
Media Mogul is known for his clarity and fiery functions.
In 2021, he urged Donald Trump to help in the region, saying that he was “only one that could save us” from China. His newspaper, Apple Daily, published a front-page paper, which ended: “Mr. President, please help us.”
For Lai, such acts were required to protect the city that took him and promoted his success.
He once told the news agency AFP: “I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything … It’s probably time that I fight for it and paid back to that freedom.”
LAI has been slapped with various allegations – including unauthorized assembly and fraud – from 2020.
He has been in custody since December of that year.
The LAI prosecution has attracted international attention, urging for their release by rights groups and foreign governments.
Over the years, Sebastian Lai has traveled to the world to condemn Hong Kong to condemn his father’s arrest and punish “characteristics of celebrating”.
“My father is in jail for truth, courage in his heart and freedom in his soul,” he said.
