Jimmy Lai tells HK court he was in the business of ‘delivering freedom’ as Canberra unites to condemn Beijing

Labor, the Coalition and Greens show rare cross-party solidarity as the most high-profile figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement speaks in court for the first time after years of legal persecution.

Jimmy Lai after being arrested in 2020 on ‘collusion’ charges in a high-profile national security trial that could see him jailed for life. Picture: AFP

Pro-democracy news publisher Jimmy Lai has told a Hong Kong court he was in the business of “delivering freedom” as he spoke for the first time in a foreign collusion case that has been condemned across Australia’s political spectrum.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, the most high profile figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement said he started his media business after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for somebody like me, a businessman who has made some money, to participate in delivering information which I think is freedom,” Lai, 76, told the court.

“To participate in delivering freedom was a very good idea for me at that time … the more information you have, the more you are in the know and the more you are free.”

Sounding weary as he swore an oath on the bible, Lai’s voice grew stronger as he gave testimony.

He said the newspaper he founded, Apple Daily, became popular because it shared the core values of Hong Kong people, such as “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly.”

Lai is accused under the national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 of colluding with foreign forces, a charge that could carry a sentence of up to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

Police man a roadblock outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ court in Hong Kong on Wednesday ahead of Jimmy Lai taking the stand in his collusion trial. Picture: AFP

The highly politicised trial in a territory once known for its respected legal system has drawn condemnation from liberal democracies around the world and across the full spectrum of Australian politics.

In an unusual demonstration of cross party solidarity, Labor, Coalition and Greens senators joined to condemn Beijing for its persecution of Lai and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release.

“I know that many Australians who have visited and grown to admire and love Hong Kong over the years … for its vibrancy, its energy and its entrepreneurialism and, most particularly, its liberal institutions and freedoms, are distressed by the path that Hong Kong is taking,” said Liberal senator Dave Sharma.

Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who joined Senator Sharma to propose the “matter of public importance”, said the Hong Kong media mogul had been charged for acts many “would simply refer to as journalism”.

“As a fellow Catholic, I note he is being denied the sacrament of Holy Communion,” the Labor senator added.

Labor senator Deborah O'Neill joined colleagues from across Australia’s political spectrum to condemn Beijing for its persecution of Lai.

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, a frequent critic of Australian foreign policy, told the Chinese government “the world is watching”.

“Jimmy Lai has been held in maximum solitary confinement in a security prison in Hong Kong for almost four years. This is inhumane,” the Greens senator said.

“He is being tried on trumped-up charges arising from his peaceful promotion of democracy, his journalism and his human rights advocacy. His trial, like so many in Hong Kong since the passage of the authoritarian national security law, lacked procedural and judicial fairness, with hand-picked judges and evidence obtained via torture,” he said.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts joined the Greens senator in criticising Beijing, as did Coalition senators Claire Chandler and David Fawcett, and Labor senator Tony Sheldon.

Lai’s trial is being held a day after the sentencing of the “Hong Kong 47”, a group of pro-democracy politicians, activists and concerned citizens.

Among them was Australian Gordon Ng, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for running a Facebook page that encouraged people to vote in a primary process being run by opposition parties in Hong Kong.

Australian pro-democracy activist Gordon Ng, who was first detained in January 2021.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised the sentencing, which was delivered hours after Xi Jinping met with Anthony Albanese at the G20.

Beijing dismissed that as a “smear” on China that sought to “undermine” Hong Kong’s rule of law.

“The Central Government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR in safeguarding national security and punishing all acts that undermine national security in accordance with the law, and firmly opposes the interference of certain Western countries in China’s internal affairs,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian late on Tuesday.

Ten foreign judges have retired from Hong Kong’s appeals bench since the National Security Law was introduced.

In June, Canadian judge Beverley McLachlin and British judges Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption quit the court, citing “the political situation” in the city.

Four of the six remaining foreign judges on the appeals bench are Australian: Robert French, Patrick Keane, James Allsop and William Gummow.

Senator Sharma, who previously served as an Australian diplomat, called for those four to “urgently reconsider their roles”.

Speaking in the Senate, he urged the four Australian judges to “reflect on how their continued service on this court confers a legitimacy on Hong Kong’s respect for the rule of law which is, clearly, unwarranted.”