The army said its special “Yahalom” unit, which specializes in tunnel warfare, has worked to excavate the tunnel since it was first detected. They say they've found weapons inside.
"At this point, this is the biggest tunnel in Gaza," Rear Adm Daniel Hagari, the chief military spokesman, told reporters in a tour of the tunnel's entrance on Friday.
It is unclear if the tunnel was used on Oct 7.
The army also showed reporters soldiers' barracks at the nearby base that it said were set ablaze by the militants. They looked like the ashes of a furnace, with blackened walls and smelted bunks. The military announced Friday that it had recovered in Gaza the bodies of two soldiers who were working at the base on Oct 7.
Dinar, who visited the tunnel Friday, said it was twice the height and three times the width of other tunnels found in Gaza. He said it is equipped with ventilation and electricity and dives 50m underground in some points. He said it was clear that millions of dollars as well as a great deal of fuel and workforce had been needed to build and sustain the tunnel.
Hagari said the military planned to destroy the tunnel and continue to “hunt" militants hiding in others.
“We will hunt them even if we need to go down to the tunnels,” Hagari said. “We also need to do it with attention to the rescue of our hostages and the understanding that maybe some of them are in the tunnels.”
“[The prosecution] is out of time therefore there’s no jurisdiction for the court,” Pang told the three judges – Madam Justices Esther Toh Lye-ping and Susana D’Almada Remedios and Mr Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang – approved by the chief executive to hear national security cases.
Lee identified the key argument in Pang’s submission as focusing on when the alleged offence began, as the prosecution said the first seditious article was published on April 1, 2019.
Pang argued that the alleged conspiracy agreement could be linked to one or more than one offence, but the legal timeline should only start when the first suspected offence occurred, so that the prosecution could not accumulate the indictable offences beyond the six-month time frame.
Lai, the founder of the popular Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, is facing one count of conspiring to publish seditious publications, alongside former editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong and five other editorial staff, under the Crimes Ordinance.
He also allegedly violated the national security law, with two conspiracy charges relating to collusion with foreign forces for allegedly drawing international sanctions against authorities and inciting public hatred in the wake of anti-government protests in 2019, sparked by a now-withdrawn extradition bill.
Jimmy Lai’s wife Teresa Lai and their youngest son outside the court. Photo: Sam Tsang
Earlier in the morning, a queue stretched from the entrance of the West Kowloon Law Courts Building in Cheung Sha Wan, as dozens of attendees braved the chilly weather for a ticket to the trial.
Vehicles heading to the car park of the building were stopped by police, accompanied by dogs, for inspection. Officers used a handheld device to check the underside of the cars.
Police dogs and dozens of officers, including three armed and masked personnel guarding an anti-riot vehicle dubbed the “Sabre-toothed tiger”, circled the entrances of the courthouse, a press zone and the public queue outside.
Steve Li Kwai-wah, chief superintendent of the national security department, was near the court building to monitor police operations in the morning. He was later seen outside the courtroom during the trial.
Lai turned 76 at the maximum-security Stanley Prison earlier this month, his fourth birthday behind bars since first being denied bail in December 2020. He has been detained for more than 1,100 days.
He was brought to West Kowloon Court at 7.35am on Monday.
Representatives from at least 10 consulates, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Switzerland began arriving at the court at around 8.20am, to observe the trial.
From left to right: representatives from the consulates of New Zealand, Australia, Switzerland, Canada and the UK. Photo: Jess Ma
US representative Roxie Houge, the economic and political affairs chief at the country’s consulate, told the press that she hoped the city’s national security trials “would be kept public”.
Matthias Kaufmann, counsellor and deputy head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau, was also in the queue. He said his presence was a signal of the union’s commitment to upholding the rule of law.
Retired Catholic leader Joseph Zen Ze-kiun was seen entering the courthouse at 9am.
Lai’s wife Teresa Li-Lai Wan-kam, his youngest son Augustin Lai Zhun-yan and daughter Claire Lai Choi also attended the trial. Li-Lai sat next to Zen during the hearing.
A founding leader of the Democratic Party, Emily Lau Wai-hing, arrived at 9.45am. She told the press that she hoped Lai would get a fair trial.
Barristers began arriving at the court at 8.45am. Colman Li Fung-kei, one of the lawyers representing Lai, was seen entering the building at 8.50am.
Wearing a grey blazer, Lai was flanked by four prison officers while he was escorted into the dock. He looked at the public gallery and smiled when he saw Zen waving at him.
Retired Catholic leader Joseph Zen entered the courthouse at 9am. Photo: Jess Ma
There were additional security measures inside the court building, requiring everyone entering to walk through a metal detector and have their belongings checked using an X-ray scanner.
The trial, which is a High Court case, was moved to the more spacious West Kowloon Court in light of the 80-day duration of the proceedings and to better accommodate crowds.
The case will be heard without a jury after justice minister Paul Lam Ting-kwok cited concerns including “involvement of foreign factors”.
Three Apple Daily-related companies are also named as defendants and are represented by counsel appointed by the company’s liquidators. The High Court ordered the winding up of the newspaper’s publisher Next Digital in December 2021 following a government petition.
Police earlier announced they would deploy 1,000 officers, including personnel from the Counter Terrorism Response Unit and bomb disposal squad, to guard the area round the clock over the next three months. Sniffer dogs would also be dispatched, the force added.
Four police vehicles are expected to be stationed at the elevated section of the West Kowloon Corridor, dozens of metres from the complex. The measure follows a suspected airgun attack on the court building that shattered a large window during a subversion trial in February.
A police bomb disposal vehicle was seen parked on a lane opposite the courthouse entrance on Monday.
A police bomb disposal vehicle parked on a lane opposite the courthouse entrance. Photo: Sam Tsang
The judiciary has set aside 388 seats for members of the public to attend the trial. Seventy spectators will observe the proceedings from the main courtroom’s public gallery, while the rest will watch a live broadcast. Another 161 seats have been reserved for the press.
About 40 people were waiting in each of the two queues, comprising members of the press and the public, outside the court building shortly after 7am.
The first four people in the public queue said they wanted to see the trial because of its historical significance.
A woman who was first in the public queue, who gave her name as JC, said she had been waiting since 10pm last night.
“I want to make sure I can go inside,” the 29-year-old catering worker said. “I’m worried there are people who were paid to queue up coming here to take the spots.”
She said she saw fewer than 10 police officers outside the court building last night.
An arts professional in his 40s, who gave his surname as Sung, said he was second in the queue after arriving at 4am on Monday.
“I was inspired to come here after reading an interview with JC. It was interesting to see someone come by so early, which inspired me to join her so she won’t be alone,” he said.
Two observers from Reporters Sans Frontières, an international non-governmental organisation advocating for press freedom, were third and fourth in line. They said they had flown into the city for the trial.
Members of the press and public brave the chilly weather for a ticket to the trial. Photo: Sam Tsang
The public queue included people of all ages, both the young and the elderly, vying for a spot inside the courthouse.
A retiree in her 60s, who gave her surname as Wong, said she came at 7am to secure a seat.
“We need to support Hongkongers. I think he did nothing wrong,” she said.
There were concerns during the opening of a high-profile subversion trial in February involving 47 opposition politicians that some people had been paid to wait in the public queue and attend the trial.
The Post has not seen anyone paying others to wait for a public seat, or receiving money for queuing up on Monday morning.
Some middle-aged and elderly attendees were seen queuing up in groups while wearing face masks. A Post reporter approached one of the groups, but they declined to speak.
The first batch of public members and the press entered the courthouse for security checks at 8.30am.
After more than 1,000 days in prison, the biggest target in Hong Kong’s crackdown on dissent, Jimmy Lai, will finally go on trial this week in a case closely scrutinized by Western governments.
The 76-year-old former media mogul’s expected appearance in court on Monday will offer a rare public glimpse of the democracy activist. The septuagenarian could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted of security crimes. He’s also facing one charge of conspiring to publish seditious information.
TOKYO: Southeast Asian and Japanese leaders agreed on Sunday (Dec 17) to boost dialogue and cooperation in "maritime security" in the face of China's growing assertiveness in the region.
Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a vital trade corridor, and its increased deployment of vessels and other methods to assert its claims in disputed areas have riled nations across the region as well as Washington.
Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreed to "strengthen dialogue and cooperation for the maintenance of maritime security and safety, maritime order based on the rule of law, including freedom and safety of navigation and overflight and unimpeded commerce", a joint statement said after a summit in Tokyo.
Without identifying China, it said that they will "enhance maritime domain awareness as well as cooperation among coastguards and relevant law enforcement agencies, strengthen cooperation on maritime capacity building, and ensure the resolution of disputes by peaceful means, without resorting to threat or use of force in accordance with universally recognised principles of international law".
Close US ally Japan, which also has territorial and other disputes with China, is hiking defence spending and has expanded security cooperation with countries across the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan agreed last month to help the Philippines buy coastguard vessels and to supply a radar system, and the two are discussing allowing troop deployments on each other's soil.
Japan expressed "serious concern" last week about "dangerous actions" after the latest tense confrontation between Philippine and Chinese vessels at flashpoint reefs, which included a collision and Chinese ships shooting water cannons.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said in an interview with Japan's public broadcaster NHK on Saturday "the situation in the (South) China Sea has grown more and more complicated".
His office quoted him as saying that a more assertive China posed a real challenge to its neighbours in Asia and that Manila would deepen cooperation with Tokyo, Washington and other like-minded countries by conducting joint exercises.
To achieve this, some people set financial goals, such as saving a specific amount of money before they hit a certain age.
In a recent YouTube video by The Woke Salaryman, co-founder and illustrator Goh Wei Choon shared how he managed to save his first $10,000.
He did this by changing his lifestyle, paying his future self first and increasing his income potential.
While some may feel that this sounds unrealistic or unachievable, it actually isn't.
Before I turned 21, I had managed to save my first $20,000.
But the road to reaching this goal was not easy and I do have some regrets.
Becoming addicted to earning money
Just a few months before entering university, I started work at a fashion boutique in town.
I had been introduced to the role by a mutual friend and actually didn't have money on my mind when I accepted the job offer — I simply wanted a way to pass time before I started school.
However, after seeing the numbers in my bank account increase over a few months, I became addicted to earning money.
My monthly pay ranged from $800 to $1,100 per month, depending on how many days I worked.
In hindsight, the pay wasn't much, but it felt like a lot as a pre-graduate.
So, even after I started university, I would carve out time after school to get that bread.
This meant rushing out of class once lessons were over just so I could catch the next bus to work.
I didn't just work on the weekdays — I worked weekend shifts, too.
And if my co-worker wasn't able to make it, I would eagerly offer to cover her, because that would mean I could earn a few more hours of money.
Budget meals and a sad social life
Even though I was drawing an income every month, I lived a very frugal life.
Too frugal, if you ask me.
One classic method I used to save money was to eat at home as much as possible.
And when I had to eat out, I gave myself a pathetic budget of $5 per day.
This meant eating the cheapest thing I could find at hawker centres or in school.
As my job was in town, food wasn't the most affordable.
So, when I worked the later shift and had no choice but to buy dinner, I would camp for discounted sushi at the supermarket.
On good days, I could get a eight-piece pack of maki for $2.80.
If there wasn't sushi available, I would go to 7-Eleven and get myself one of the $2 onigiri.
Occasionally, I would treat myself to some butter chicken biryani for $3.90, and that already felt like a splurge.
Not having much of a social life also helped my wallet quite a fair bit.
Because I was so busy zipping off to work after school, I barely had time to make new friends or hang out with existing ones.
This meant that I didn't need to spend much on meals or activities.
I also rejected invitations to watch movies in cinemas because back then, the idea of spending $8 on a movie ticket felt too indulgent. Why do that when I could stream it at home for free?
And obviously, an overseas trip with friends was not on my to do list.
So, while my friends were having a good time jetting off to destinations like Bali and Bangkok, I was grinding away at work, saving every cent that I could.
It wasn't entirely worth it
Towards the end of university, I decided to stop working because I wanted to focus on my last two semesters of school.
Immediately after, I started work at my first proper full-time job, with no breaks in between and no graduation trip.
This was when I realised that I had shortchanged myself.
Yes, I did have an impressive amount in my bank, probably more than most of my peers.
But I also didn't get to experience what would have been the last few years of my schooling life.
On top of that, I was perpetually sleep deprived and exhausted from trying to juggle so many things at once.
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Not to say that I shouldn't have worked while I was in university — if I could turn back the clock, I still would have done it, but differently.
I would have been less strict with myself and allowed myself some leeway to use a portion of that money for leisure.
I also would have worked fewer hours so I could spend more time with friends and loved ones.
Sure, that would have meant that I wouldn't have been able to save up as much, or have taken much longer to hit the $20,000 mark.
But all the money in the world can't buy you back time.
And I feel that because I earned all that money in such an unhealthy way, I spent the rest of my 20s trying to make up for all that lost time by revenge travelling and spending.
This in turn, made me spiral and recklessly use up a huge chunk of all that hard-earned money.
So, while it's good to hustle and set goals for an early retirement, you shouldn't put too much pressure on yourself to meet those goals.
There's no point accumulating money and not spending it — have a balance and don't forget to enjoy the little things in life while you're at it.
The US, Britain, the European Union and the United Nations (UN) have all expressed concerns about Lai's case - which Beijing has dismissed as smearing and interference.
Lai's son Sebastien last month told AFP the case was "an opportunity for Hong Kong to show whether they are actually rule-of-law compliant".
The world "should be paying attention to my father's case, to the case of Hong Kong", he said.
The Apple Daily owner's arrest came during the rapid erosion of press freedom and political dissent in Hong Kong, with analysts saying the trial will show whether the city's courts can rule independently of Beijing.
How judges draw the line between the concepts of advocacy and collusion will be a key issue to watch, according to Georgetown University legal scholar Eric Lai.
"It is important to observe how the court would define ordinary overseas advocacy activities as a crime," he told AFP.
The case was "also worth concern in terms of fair trial and due process," he added.
"ANTI-CHINESE"
Senior Beijing and Hong Kong officials have repeatedly issued statements condemning Lai since 2019.
China's foreign affairs commissioner in Hong Kong in September accused Lai of being "an agent of the anti-Chinese forces in the United States and the West" and a secessionist.
In a post on X - formerly known as Twitter - Britain's foreign office said that Foreign Secretary David Cameron met earlier this month with Lai's son, Sebastien, "to listen to his concerns for his father".
"The UK opposes the National Security Law and will continue to stand by Jimmy Lai and the people of HK," the office said on Wednesday.
Beijing blasted the meeting as a clear sign of Britain's "malicious intentions", calling Lai "a driving force behind the chaos in Hong Kong".
Hong Kong follows a common law system due to its colonial history, but Lai's case differs from how criminal trials are usually run.
He will be tried, without a jury, by three judges drawn from a pool of jurists handpicked by Hong Kong's leader.
Lai has been jailed since Hong Kong's top court denied him bail in late 2020 - a change from the city's previous practices on pre-trial detention.
The Red Sea has the Suez Canal at its northern end and the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end leading into the Gulf of Aden. It is a busy waterway with ships traversing the Suez Canal to bring goods between Asia and Europe.
A huge amount of Europe’s energy supplies, like oil and diesel fuel, come through that waterway, said John Stawpert, senior manager of environment and trade for the International Chamber of Shipping, which represents 80 per cent of the world’s commercial fleet.
So do food products like palm oil and grain and anything else brought over on container ships, which is most of the world’s manufactured products.
HOW ARE HOUTHI ATTACKS AFFECTING TRADE?
Some Israeli-linked vessels have apparently started taking the longer route around Africa and the Cape of Good Hope, said Noam Raydan, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. That lengthens the trip from around 19 days to 31 days depending on vessel speed, increasing costs and adding delays, she said.
The global oil market has shrugged off the most recent attacks. Prices have fallen, and the market is more worried about weak demand in major economies.
The single biggest immediate impact of the Houthi escalation has been increased insurance costs.
The attack and attempted strikes this week show the increased threat to vessels in the Red Sea and represent a “significant impediment” to commercial shipping in the region, said Munro Anderson, head of operations for Vessel Protect, which assesses war risks at sea and provides insurance with backing from Lloyd’s, whose members make up the world’s largest insurance marketplace.
“The latest incident represents a further degree of instability facing commercial operators within the Red Sea which is likely to continue to see heightened rates across the short to medium term,” he said.
Insurance costs have doubled for shippers moving through the Red Sea, which can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to a journey for the most expensive ships, said David Osler, insurance editor for Lloyd’s List Intelligence, which provides analysis for the global maritime industry.
For Israeli ship owners, they have gone up even more — by 250 per cent — and some insurers won’t cover them at all, he said.
While shippers are applying a so-called war risk charge of US$50 to US$100 per container to customers bringing over everything from grain to oil to things you buy off Amazon, that’s a low enough fee that it should not drive up prices for consumers, he said.
Osler expects insurance costs to keep rising but said the situation would have to get a lot worse — such as the loss of several ships — to raise prices considerably and make some ship owners rethink moving through the region.
“At the moment, it’s just an inconvenience that the system can handle,” he said. “Nobody likes to be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars more, but you can live with it if you have to.”
COULD THE HOUTHIS BLOCK THE RED SEA?
Unlikely, experts say. The Houthis have no formal naval warships with which to impose a cordon, relying on harassing fire and only one helicopter-borne assault so far. Meanwhile, US, French and other coalition warships patrol the area, keeping the waterway open.
Still, the attacks are making the shipping industry nervous, and “it’s not being taken lightly”, said Stawpert of the shipping chamber. But “you’ll still see there’s an awful lot of trade going through the Red Sea because it’s such a crucial supply line for Europe and Asia”.
He noted that the Houthis' area of influence in the waterway also remains limited.
“I just don’t see there being a possibility of the Houthis shutting transport through the Red Sea,” he said. It is “simply not how the shipping industry works. It’s not how we respond to threats like this. We will do everything we can to mitigate any such threats and keep trade flowing”.
He doesn't see a threat to shipping in general or closure of Red Sea routes, but “if that were to arise as a potentiality, I think we would see a much more robust reaction from navies in the area”.
