Jimmy Lai prosecutors raise Trump’s praise of media mogul during sedition trial

Prosecutors in Hong Kong raised former US president Donald Trump's praise of Jimmy Laiduring the pro-democracy media mogul's trial on Monday.

Mr Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, is facing charges under the Chinese city’s new national security laws, including foreign collusion.

As part of their case, lead prosecutor Ivan Cheung presented to the court tweets and Apple Daily reports from 2020 that were published following Mr Lai’s arrest.

Mr Trump, then serving as the 45th US president, called Mr Lai a «brave man» in the wake of his arrest under the Beijing-imposed security law for alleged collusion with foreign powers.

The prosecutor showed the West Kowloon Court an article which read: "[Lai] thanked Trump on Twitter, stating that Hong Kong could not be successful without freedom, and could no longer be an international financial centre.”

Apple Daily reported the next day “Trump: Jimmy Lai is a brave man”, citing Mr Lai’s tweet thanking Trump, the prosecutor said.

Chan Pui-man, a former associate publisher with Apple Daily, said the news was covered as Mr Trump had «publicly praised Lai in a press conference, which many foreign media outlets reported».

Ms Chan was testifying as a prosecution witness after pleading guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces.

The 76-year-old UK citizen is facing the prospect of life in prison if found guilty of sedition and collusion charges brought against him under the draconian national security laws. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The prosecutor argued that Mr Lai steered staff at the publication to highlight a report on a potential list of Hong Kong and mainland China officials facing American sanctions. The court was shown WhatsApp