Hong Kong's activist publisher Jimmy Lai set to go on trial

Jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai will go on trial in Hong Kong on Monday for national security crimes, facing life in prison in a case that has sparked international condemnation.

Lai, who is 76, is charged with several counts of "colluding with foreign forces" - a crime under a national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020 following massive pro-democracy protests.

The case against Lai, which will see him tried without a jury, is being closely watched as a test of how many of the civil liberties the city once boasted remain.

More than 30 people have been convicted under Hong Kong's security law, but Lai was one of the most recognisable figures in the pro-democracy movement.

Lai is the first to contest the charge of "foreign collusion" - punishable with life behind bars.

Hong Kong's crackdown has also seen police offer huge bounties for activists who fled the city, in a move that has been strongly condemned by the United States and Britain.

The most serious charges against Lai revolve around Apple Daily, which he founded in 1995 and was once Hong Kong's most popular Chinese-language tabloid.

The paper was staunchly critical of Beijing and supported Hong Kong's huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

It later called for international sanctions against Chinese and local officials.

The outlet was forced to shutter in June 2021 after authorities used the security law to raid it twice and freeze assets worth HK$18 million ($2.3 million).

Authorities charged Lai and six former Apple Daily executives with "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces."

Lai was singled out for an additional collusion charge.

All defendants except Lai have pleaded...