Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, 76, testified in court for the first time on Wednesday in his landmark national security trial, accused of endangering China's national security by colluding with foreign forces.

Jimmy Lai, who is charged with national security offenses, testified that his newspaper “carried a torch to the reality” of people’s desire for freedom in the city.

Mo, 67, a former legislator who did plead guilty, received one of the shortest sentences of four years and two months. The judges held that she was an “active participant” in the scheme but gave her a relatively lenient sentence after taking her public service into account.

Jimmy Lai, 76, was first arrested in August 2020 under China’s newly instituted Hong Kong national security law.

The U.S. has criticized the trial and said the activists should be released as they had been "peacefully participating in political activities."

Jimmy Lai, a prominent pro-democracy advocate and media tycoon, testified for the first time in a Hong Kong courtroom on Wednesday as part of his ongoing national security trial. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

On Tuesday, three national security judges hand-picked by the government for this trial will conclude the legal saga that began with the democrats’ arrests in January 2021. Jail terms are expected to

The defendants were prosecuted under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing that crushed a once-thriving pro-democracy movement.

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai took the stand for the first time in his national security trial on Wednesday.