Jimmy Lai's Shackled Appearance

Lai made a court appearance today to face NSL charges

The sight of 73-year-old Jimmy Lai Chee-ying bound in chains around his waist and in handcuffs will not be forgotten; the self-made tycoon is the embodiment of free speech, free press and free expression -- wrapped in chains.

He made an appearance at West Kowloon Court this morning to face charges of violating the national security law by colluding with foreign forces in his social media posts, calling for sanctions against local and mainland authorities.

Police are gathering evidence from Lai's tweets

The founder of Apple Daily was denied bail and his case will be brought to trial in April. In the meantime police will spend the next four months going through his social media, mainly Twitter to gather evidence.

While the law is not meant to be retroactive, prosecutors claim to have found tweets published after the national security law was implemented, where Lai called for overseas countries to "voice out and take action" over Beijing's suppression, tagging United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

In another tweet, Lai urged the US to "be lenient" towards young Hongkongers seeking asylum in the country.

Prosecutors also focused on Lai's commentaries published in his newspaper, in which he believed international sanctions against Beijing over the new law would be more severe than the penalties imposed over the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

The 17-page filing also noted Apple Daily has hosted online chats with guests like New York Times correspondent Nicholas Kristof, and Lai discussed how he thought Western countries should unite against China and why the West should be careful dealing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he called "Mao Zedong No. 2".

He has met with Vice-President Mike Pence

Lai was also interviewed on Fox News, and CNN, and met with US Vice-President Mike Pence.

The filing also noted Lai had 120,000 followers on Twitter, and he followed such people as Pompeo and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. 

Lawyers for Lai appealed to grant the tycoon bail, but was refused. They also urged the magistrate to cut the adjournment period of four months down to one, but prosecutors claimed more time was needed to "enable police to conduct further investigation", and the case was adjourned to April 16.

As Lai is the first high-profile case to be tried under the national security law, there is not chance for leniency, everything is strictly by the book.

Sadly Lai most likely will spend the rest of his life in prison. Did he know it would happen this quickly? And like this?

Meanwhile the Department of Justice is "appalled" by overseas politicians like Pence and Pompeo calling for Lai's release.

Lai has given interviews with Fox News, CNN

Pence called the charges against Lai "an affront to freedom loving people and everywhere," while Pompeo said Hong Kong's national security law "makes a mockery of justice", and Lai's only crime is "speaking the truth about the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarianism and fear of freedom."

In a statement, a DOJ spokesman said: "We are appalled by such open demands for withdrawal of charge and immediate release of the defendant by senior officials in another jurisdiction. Such acts not only disrespect the HKSAR's judicial system and undermine the spirit of the rule of law, but also attempt to meddle in Hong Kong's affairs which are internal affairs of the People's Republic of China."

A very typical Chinese government statement.

"Any demands or statements that purport to interfere with the prosecutorial decision and process controlled by the DOJ or the independent exercise of judicial power by the judiciary of the HKSAR will be futile," he added, stressing that all prosecutions are without political consideration and it has nothing to do with people's political belief.

But this case is very much about Lai's political belief, is it not?