Jimmy Lai asked Apple Daily executive to help UK-based group that later called for foreign sanctions against Hong Kong officials, court hears

Prosecutors present WhatsApp messages between Lai and Chan Pui-man, former associate publisher of the tabloid, showing tycoon asking her to follow up with Hong Kong Watch

British-based group had called on the UK government to sanction Chief Executive John Lee and key officials in Hong Kong and mainland China

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Chan Pui-man, Apple Daily associate publisher, says tycoon Jimmy Lai asked her to link up with British-based group Hong Kong Watch. Photo: Handout

Published: 5:40pm, 5 Feb 2024Updated: 8:52am, 6 Feb 2024

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying asked a senior executive of the now-closed Apple Daily tabloid he owned to help a British-based rights group that later called on foreign sanctions against city officials following the enactment of the national security law, a court heard on Monday.

Chan Pui-man, a former associate publisher of the newspaper, also said her ex-boss asked her to play up the coverage of a 2019 meeting between then United States vice-president Mike Pence and an opposition delegation to achieve “maximum effect”.

As the high-profile trial entered its 23rd day, Chan appeared as the second accomplice witness to testify against former boss Lai, 76, who is facing charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the national security law.

Former Apple Daily executive Chan Pui-man arrives at West Kowloon Courts. She is the second accomplice witness to testify against her former boss Jimmy Lai. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Prosecutors presented WhatsApp communications between Chan and Lai that showed the tycoon asked his subordinate to get in touch with Benedict Rogers, co-founder of Hong Kong Watch, on October 31, 2017, a month before the rights group was established in London.

“Pui man, I just had dinner with Ben Rogers. He recently founded Hong Kong Watch with some MPs [Members of Parliament], to safeguard Hong Kong’s freedoms. I told him to come to you in case he needed help from the media,” the message read.

Chan said what she knew about the group at that time was that it advocated freedom and democracy in Hong Kong and was “very critical” of Beijing. Following the enactment of the national security law in June 2020, the group had appealed to the UK government to sanction John Lee Ka-chiu, then secretary for security and now chief executive, as well as other local and mainland Chinese officials, for restricting the city’s freedom.