Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, is standing trial in one of the city’s most significant cases since China imposed its National Security Law (NSL) in 2020.Lai, 77, was arrested in August 2020, charged with conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and to publish seditious material. He was held in pre-trial custody after his motion for bail was dismissed in December that year. Since then, he has mostly been under solitary confinement and faces the prospect of life imprisonment if convicted.Here is what to know.What is Hong Kong’s unique administrative system?Hong Kong has been governed as a Chinese Special Administrative Region since 1997 under the “one country, two systems” framework first proposed by then Chinese President Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s. The model was designed to integrate Hong Kong, Macau, and potentially Taiwan into China, while allowing them to preserve their distinct legal and economic systems.After more than 150 years of British colonial rule, beginning with the cession of Hong Kong in 1842, sovereignty was returned to China under the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984. It said Hong Kong would enjoy a high degree of autonomy under the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, which promised an independent judiciary and protection of civil liberties for 50 years — until 2047.Though never a full democracy, Hong Kong’s citizens did vote in limited ways. For instance, in the legislature known as the Legislative Council, half the seats were directly elected, and the other half were reserved for voting by the business and political elites. However, the seniormost official, the Chief Executive, was never chosen by popular vote and instead selected by a committee dominated by the city elites.What was the 2020 National Security Law?Beijing introduced the National Security Law on June 30, 2020, after months of mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019. The protests were against the proposed amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance that would have allowed extradition to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong lacked treaties. Simply, the people of Hong Kong were concerned about being extradited to mainland China for running afoul of the government.The movement grew into the largest demonstration in Hong Kong’s history, with organisers claiming over 2 million people marched, later evolving into demands for wider democratic reforms. While the extradition Bill was shelved, Beijing decided to intervene more firmly with the NSL.Story continues below this adIt established four new offences: secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. It covers speech, publications, online activities, and even contacts overseas.The law also created new institutional arrangements, such as a mainland security office in Hong Kong with powers beyond local jurisdiction, and authorising the Chief Executive to designate the pool of judges eligible to hear NSL cases.Since its enactment, the NSL has been used for hundreds of arrests, disqualifications of election candidates and closures of civil society groups and media outlets. In March 2024, Hong Kong passed a previously withdrawn legislation known as Article 23 under the Basic Law that complements the NSL framework — criminalising espionage, external interference, theft of state secrets and activities by foreign political organisations.The government has repeatedly argued that the NSL was necessary to restore normalcy to the city after the 2019 protests, described as violent and influenced by foreign actors. Only “a tiny number of criminals” who threaten national security would be its targets, the government claimed.Story continues below this adExplained | 6 Hong Kong activists against whom arrest warrants have been issuedBoth the NSL and Article 23 have reshaped the city, with the limited avenues for democracy having been sharply reduced. According to Reuters, reforms in 2021 reduced the proportion of directly elected Legislative Council seats to about 22% and in 2023, the share of directly elected district council seats was slashed significantly.The voter turnout has fallen to historic lows, and Beijing continues to wield ultimate authority through its power to interpret the Basic Law.Why is this trial significant?Jimmy Lai’s prosecution exemplifies the wide scope of the NSL. Prosecutors allege that he was at the centre of a conspiracy to seek foreign sanctions against Hong Kong and China, citing his meetings in Washington in 2019 with then US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and contacts with rights groups abroad.According to The Guardian, Prosecutor Anthony Chau told the three-judge panel that Apple Daily articles were published to “defame the government, causing the people to lose confidence or to turn hostile against the government,” and amounted to sedition. The paper was forced to close down in June 2021 after its accounts were frozen under the NSL.Story continues below this adLai has pleaded not guilty. In his closing arguments, Barrister Robert Pang defended free speech and told the bench that “It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights… It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country, because… you can’t force someone to think in one way or another,” reported The Guardian.The proceedings highlight the NSL’s impact. Here, the Chief Executive designated a pool of judges, from which the panel was appointed. Authorities cited risks to juror safety and “foreign” factors in ordering a judge-only trial, without a jury. Further, Lai was denied bail in 2020 under an NSL provision that bars a judge from doing so, unless they have “sufficient grounds for believing that the criminal suspect or defendant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.”These are departures from established procedure. A key issue is the distinction between political advocacy and criminal conduct. Many jurisdictions treat calls for sanctions as protected political expression, but under the NSL, lobbying foreign governments can be defined as “collusion.” It remains to be seen how the court interprets the provision.Another concern is press freedom — whether editorials and reporting that criticise government policies amount to criminal activity.Story continues below this adThe trial will test whether Hong Kong’s judiciary, once considered among Asia’s most independent, can act autonomously under a system where Beijing retains interpretive authority over the NSL.Lai’s case is also part of a wider trend. According to The New York Times, since 2020, 47 activists have been charged for organising ‘unofficial’ primaries for Legislative Council polls. Of them, 45 people were convicted on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion under NSL. This group is also referred to as “Hong Kong 47”, representing the largest trial under NSL that illustrates Beijing’s attempts to curb pro-democracy activities. Dozens of opposition lawmakers have been removed, and civil society groups have dissolved. The NSL has also been applied extraterritorially, with warrants and bounties issued for activists abroad, including foreign citizens.The closing arguments by Lai’s defence team will conclude by next week, and the judgment is expected to be delivered by October.