Jimmy Lai case: No provocative intent or ‘hate’ in Hong Kong reports say

Lai has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the national security law and a third charge of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications related to Apple Daily.

He said on Thursday that he had received “internal” information from someone with access to then-US President Donald Trump’s administration about Washington’s decision to sanction Hong Kong officials, but denied asking a former senior executive of the tabloid newspaper to prepare a new list for the proposal. Names of persons to be sanctioned.

The court heard Lai passed the secret message to a number of friends, from former MPs to the head of a now-defunct alliance that organized the city’s annual candlelight vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square raid.

Lai also denied inciting hatred against authorities through three comments he wrote for Apple Daily.

He said he “envisions” that the city’s rule of law will transform into the rule of man if only an extradition bill, withdrawn in 2019, is passed that would allow fugitives to be transferred to mainland China.

He added that it was legal to call on readers to participate in peaceful demonstrations.

Asked whether the raid on the Legislative Council complex by radical protesters in July 2019 constituted “serious violence”, he replied: “I wouldn’t say it was serious violence because no one was injured, you know, no one’s life was in danger, but it was serious violence because of the damage to property and at the same time, it unlawfully overrode the laws.”

Defense lawyers are expected to question Lai for three weeks before prosecutors begin cross-examination.

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