‘Not guilty’, pleads tycoon

Police officers patrol outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts, where activist publisher Jimmy Lai's trial takes place, in Hong Kong, Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Billy H.C. Kwok)

HONG KONG: Tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty in his landmark trial, where he is accused of endangering China’s national security, as prosecutors laid out details of what they said was collusion with foreign forces.

Lai, a leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party, faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces – including calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials – under a China-imposed national security law.