Jimmy Lai trial enters final lap

From HKFP – after a delay for a heart check, closing arguments start at Jimmy Lai’s trial… 

Lai stands accused of two conspiracy charges of foreign collusion under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third count of conspiring to publish seditious materials under colonial-era legislation. He faces life behind bars if convicted.

At the centre of the case are Lai’s ties with foreign officials and politicians, which prosecutors allege he used to lobby for countries to impose “Sanctions, Blockades, or Hostile activity” (SBHA) against authorities in mainland China and Hong Kong.

“We submit that all these foreign connections and foreign collaborations show [Lai’s] unwavering intent to solicit SBHA from foreign countries,” [Prosecutor Anthony] Chau told the court. “These collaborations are long-term and persistent.”

Prosecutors named retired US army general Jack Keane, ex-US deputy secretary of defence Paul Wolfowitz, and Mary Kissel, an advisor to then US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, as Lai’s foreign connections, among others.

Chau also attacked the defence’s closing arguments regarding human rights issues in the case, which have yet to be delivered orally in court.

…He also argued that the Beijing-imposed security law does not criminalise “normal international exchange,” but it outlaws foreign collusion, such as requesting foreign sanctions to be imposed on China and Hong Kong.

If you meet a foreign official and say one thing, that’s normal exchange; say another, and it’s a crime carrying a possible life sentence. There is no jury.

A quick Google search shows that the BBC, Reuters, AP, CBS, NBC and others are all covering the case. As does China Daily…

When discussing the case, Chau argued that while the collusion agreement was formed before the implementation of the NSL, its continued existence after the law’s enactment rendered it illegal.

Chau explained that the law does not require agreements to be “renewed” — defendants who maintained the same unlawful intent after the NSL took effect would be in violation, regardless of when the agreement was originally made.

Chau further noted that the prosecution need not pinpoint the exact time or location where the agreement was formed.

…Chau emphasized that the mere act of making such requests itself violates the law.

CNN reports from a rooftop hut in Sham Shui Po…

On a sweltering summer afternoon in Hong Kong, Yeung Fong-yan’s flat felt like an oven. Her air conditioner ran at full blast, but the tiny, tin-roofed room still baked in the heat, with a thermometer inside reading 36°C (96.8°F).

“Sometimes it’s so hot we can’t even sleep,” Yeung said, seated on the small bed that doubles as her couch, dining table and sleeping quarters. Her 13-year-old grandson had just returned home from school, exhausted and drenched in sweat after climbing nine floors to reach their apartment.