Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying deliberately fabricated a negative image of Beijing to create an excuse for Western interference, prosecutors have said, accusing him of having a “resolute” intent to press on with his efforts even after the national security law took effect five years ago.
West Kowloon Court on Tuesday resumed hearing the prosecution’s closing remarks in the marathon national security trial of the Apple Daily founder, who is contesting three conspiracy counts of printing seditious publications and colluding with foreign forces.
“If we look at the totality of [Lai’s] remarks as a whole, we can see … [he] tried to create a false impression [of the country] so that the external elements can punish the Chinese and Hong Kong governments,” he said.
He also highlighted Lai’s call for the US government to raise concerns about Hong Kong’s human rights conditions in its trade talks to Beijing, but one of the three presiding High Court judges questioned how the move could be depicted as an attempt to trigger a hostile response from foreign states.
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