Former media boss and opposition activist Jimmy Lai Chee-ying took to the witness stand for the first time on Wednesday in his high-profile national security trial, admitting he had donated money to local and overseas groups but denying that he used those connections to manipulate foreign policies on Hong Kong and mainland China.
Beijing rebuffed criticism by Western politicians of Lai’s prosecution, branding him as a “pawn of anti-China forces” as the trial of the owner of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid resumed at West Kowloon Court on a rainy morning.
