Jimmy Lai’s trial will spark new smear campaign against Hong Kong but people will also see how ‘bad’ his actions were, says security minister

Hong Kong’s security minister Chris Tang Ping-keung expects the trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to spark a fresh wave of smear campaigns against the city, but he was confident the open hearing will also reveal the extent of the “bad” crimes the Apple Daily founder had allegedly committed.

Lai, 75, is facing charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces for allegedly calling for international sanctions against Hong Kong and central authorities and inciting public hatred in the wake of the city’s anti-government protests in 2019.

Having spent nearly three years in custody, the media mogul will stand trial at the High Court on December 18. The court has estimated that it will take at least 80 days.

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In an exclusive interview with the Post, Tang declined to discuss the case details given the ongoing judicial process, but he said the public would soon learn about them when the prosecutor presented their case in open court.

“When you look at all the details as disclosed, you will see how bad they are. Let’s wait and see [for] yourself,” he said.

As the widely anticipated trial is set to attract international media coverage, the security secretary expects the case’s publicity will give rise to another wave of “smear campaigns” against Hong Kong and Beijing authorities.

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He said fresh attacks by foreign politicians were also likely to target the local efforts to outlaw more national security offences under Article 23 of the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, as the city government aims to complete the legislation by next year.

“I’m sure they will make use of this as another excuse to smear our government and to smear our country … It’s a must. It’s anticipated,” he said.

He lamented that the Hong Kong government’s counter efforts to set the record straight for the overseas audience on its national security safeguards had been made very difficult because “a lot of those international forums” have been “manipulated by the United States and its allies.”

“They’ll make use of every opportunity to smear Hong Kong,” he said. “When you look back, every two or three months, there will be a certain report from the US, from the UK, talking about [how] there’s no freedoms in Hong Kong. And now you can say whatever you want, right?”

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He argued that local media still enjoyed press freedom, which had been “affected” during the 2019 protests when one particular television broadcaster became a target of violence.

The security chief had previously vowed to address fake news in the city after the government commissioned a consultancy study in 2022 to look into legislation enacted overseas for disinformation and make recommendations regarding “the ensuing legislative work”.

More than a year later, authorities only said in a supplementary document to last month’s policy address that they would now consider “how best to deal with the subject of false information in the light of Hong Kong’s circumstances” based on the report findings.

Tang said in the interview that legislation was one of the many approaches to safeguard the public interest from the harm of disinformation, which could also include administrative measures as well as education.

He declined to comment further as the subject is under purview of the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau.

More from South China Morning Post:

• National security trial of Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai postponed yet again so judge can wrap up separate subversion case
• Hong Kong court grants partial victory to Jimmy Lai, 6 ex-opposition lawmakers over roles in banned 2019 march during anti-government protests

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