Trial begins for Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai

STORY: A landmark national security trial for pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai opened in Hong Kong on Monday amid tight security. The media tycoon faces possible life imprisonment on charges he colluded with foreign forces, including the United States.Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges, was brought to the court in a navy blue prison van.Crowds lined up overnight to secure a spot in the courtroom.Among them was veteran Hong Kong democrat Emily Lau:“I hope they will get – Jimmy and others – will get a fair, open and just hearing."Lai, the founder of now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, is one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China's Communist Party leadership.He has faced a salvo of litigation since a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2019.China’s foreign ministry recently called Lai a “notorious anti-China element,” and he has been behind bars now for over 1,000 days. Western democracies will be watching the case closely,with the trial seen as a key test for Hong Kong's judicial independence and freedoms under the security law imposed by China in 2020.Britain on Sunday (December 17) explicitly called on Hong Kong authorities to release Lai.