• Jimmy Lai was the chief of the now-defunct Hong Kong tabloid Apple Daily.
• Now 77, he's facing a life sentence in a national security trial in Hong Kong.
• He was arrested in August 2020 after the intense anti-China government protests of 2019.

Jimmy Lai, once one of Hong Kong's most outspoken media tycoons, has been silent for more than four years since his arrest in 2020.

But on Wednesday, Lai was seen in a Hong Kong courtroom, where he spoke in his own defense in a national security trial that could well end in him being sent to prison for life.

Lai was charged under Hong Kong's far-reaching national security law, legislation introduced in 2020 that has had a chilling effect on protests and dissent on the island.

The national security law was enacted after the city erupted in grassroots-led protests against China in 2019.

Lai, who has been accused of sedition and foreign collusion, downplayed his ties to the West during his testimony on Wednesday.

The former media mogul had met then-Vice President Mike Pence during a visit to the US in July 2019 amid the protests in Hong Kong.

"I would not dare to ask the vice president to do anything. I would just relay to him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me," Lai said in court, per Reuters.

After the protests were quelled, a raft of arrests followed, including Lai's. Other symbols of the pro-democracy movement fled the city. Some were jailed, including student leader Joshua Wong and activist Agnes Chow.

Wong was one of the 45 influential pro-democracy protesters who, on Tuesday, were handed sentences of up to 10 years. This mass sentencing of Hong Kong's activists was also based on charges under Hong Kong's national security law.

Lai's position in Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests

In 2019, student leaders like Wong raged against the Chinese government for months. They were among the hundreds of thousands of people who marched in protest of a bill that allowed Hong Kong residents to be extradited to China for trial.

The protests turned violent, with people saying they were prepared to fight to the death for democracy.

In the maelstrom of Hong Kong's protest movement, Apple Daily, Lai's now-shuttered media outlet, drew the Chinese government's ire for its critical coverage and pro-democracy stance.

In August 2020, 200 police officers were sent to Apple Daily's offices to arrest Lai.

A second raid involving about 500 police officers took place in June 2021.

This time, five executives, including the paper's editor in chief and CEO, were arrested. Apple Daily ceased publication a week later.

"Jimmy Lai is the principal mastermind and perpetrator behind the series of riots that shook Hong Kong. He is an agent and henchman of those hostile to China," Lin Jian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said at a press briefing in Beijing on Wednesday.

Lai now faces three charges — two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Lai is expected to continue testifying in the coming weeks. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Lai played his Trump card

In May 2020, weeks before his arrest, Lai said in a CNN interview that then-President Donald Trump was the only person who could save Hong Kong.

"If you save us, you can stop China's aggressions. You can also save the world," Lai told CNN.

In October, President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on Lai's case during an interview with podcast host Hugh Hewitt.

When asked about Lai, Trump said he would be able to free the former media mogul.

"That's going to be so easy. I'll get him out," Trump said without providing further details.

A different Hong Kong

As he prepares to take office four years after leaving it, Trump is dealing with a different Beijing — and a different Hong Kong.

The imposition of the national security law marked the effective end of Hong Kong's political autonomy from China.

The sweeping set of legislation now criminalizes what China deems as subversion, terrorism, and collusion with a foreign country.

Those charged with the most severe offenses, like undermining the Chinese government, can face a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Samuel Woodhams, a security researcher, told Business Insider in July 2020 that the law would allow the government to block content, intercept private messages, and seize electronic devices.

"Above all else, the implementation rules have the potential to radically criminalize online speech in Hong Kong," Woodhams said.

In July 2020, during his first term, Trump signed an executive order ending Hong Kong's preferential trade status. When announcing the move in 2020, Trump said, "No administration has been tougher on China than this administration."

In February, Trump said he plans to introduce 60% tariffs on Chinese goods.