Hong Kong democrat Jimmy Lai on Thursday told a court trying him for colluding with foreign powers that he paid a former U.S. general to advise former Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen in late 2017, but denied seeking to endanger China's national security.

Ex-media boss admits to payment after prosecutors challenge his claim of no foreign policy influence in Hong Kong and the mainland.

With less than a week before leaving the White House, President Joe Biden on Wednesday again shielded Hong Kongers who stay in the United States beyond the expiration of their visas from deportation.

Outgoing US president Joe Biden has extended a programme allowing Hong Kong residents in the country to stay beyond the expiry of their visas by another two years, just weeks before the scheme was due to come to an end.