Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai gave more than HK$8.9 million to anti-China group, prosecutors allege
- Apple Daily tabloid founder Lai also connected members of ‘Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong’ with foreign politicians, court hears
- Prosecutors describe Lai as mastermind and sponsor of group, saying it attracted sanctions from abroad
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying made more than HK$8.9 million (US$1.13 million) in financial contributions to an anti-China campaign in 2019 and connected its members with overseas politicians with the aim of exerting foreign political pressure on mainland China and Hong Kong, prosecutors on Thursday said.
The prosecution focused on the “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” (SWHK) group on the sixth day of the Apple Daily tabloid founder’s national security trial at West Kowloon Court, alleging that the campaign was masterminded and financed by Lai behind the scenes.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang said that since the 2019 anti-government protests, the group founded in August that year purportedly to advocate democracy and freedom had created a “cohesive network” with prominent political figures from the United States, Britain and Japan, with the help of Lai and his right-hand man, Mark Simon, a former US intelligence agent.
SWHK also reportedly benefited from the financial might of Lai, who, via Simon and firms under the tycoon’s control, was said to have made advance payments for its promotional material and reimbursed its members for organising exhibitions and inviting foreign politicians to observe the city’s district council election.
