Lai initially told his marathon national security trial on Thursday that he was “not interested” in the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, as he believed it would be “more academic than substance”.
He added that he doubted anyone in the United States would follow up once it was signed into law to allow Washington to take punitive actions against mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials.
The 77-year-old accused also shed light on his relationship with his right-hand man, former US naval intelligence employee Mark Simon, saying he had no idea how the American developed his political connections in his home country and received what appeared to be insider information in Washington.
Prosecutors pressed on with their cross-examination of Lai’s evidence on his 32nd day in the witness box at West Kowloon Court, with a focus on the tabloid founder’s attitude towards US punitive measures against Hong Kong in late 2019.
