HONG KONG: A landmark national security trial opened Monday in Hong Kong for prominent activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, who faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a law imposed by Beijing to crush dissidents.
Lai, 76, was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on the pro-democracy movement against national security law. He was charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to put out seditious publications.
The closely watched case is widely seen as a trial of press freedom and a test for judicial independence in the Asian financial hub.