Jimmy Lai steered Apple Daily to play up reports of Hong Kong, mainland officials facing possible US sanctions, prosecutors say

Prosecutors highlight July 2020 front-page story about officials facing potential US sanctions after executive order signed by then-president Donald Trump
Story primarily based on news agency report naming China’s vice-president Han Zheng, then-city leader Carrie Lam and security chief Chris Tang as targets

Jimmy Lai trial

Brian Wong

Published: 10:23pm, 26 Feb 2024

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Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying steered staff at his Apple Daily tabloid to play up a report on a potential list of city and mainland Chinese officials who could face US sanctions, prosecutors have said at his national security trial.

Prosecutors on Monday highlighted Apple Daily’s front-page story of July 18, 2020, which named the officials facing the prospect of US sanctions in the wake of an executive order signed by then president Donald Trump to penalise them for what was said to be an erosion of the city’s autonomy.

West Kowloon Court heard the story was primarily based on a news agency report published several days before that claimed Trump had decided to sanction China’s vice-premier Han Zheng, now the country’s vice-president, the then Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and police commissioner Chris Tang Ping-keung, now the city’s security chief.

The West Kowloon Law Courts Building. Prosecutors on Monday continued to examine a series of allegedly offensive articles in Apple Daily after the national security law came into force on June 30, 2020. Photo: Dickson Lee

Ivan Cheung Cheuk-kan, for the prosecution, suggested that Apple Daily highlighted the news agency report in line with instructions from Lai, who was said to have asked then associate publisher Chan Pui-man to draw up a sanction list for the Trump administration after the executive order was signed.

Cheung also questioned why a supplementary article in the tabloid’s report purported to analyse possible further actions by the United States and their impact without identifying its source.

Chan, a defendant turned prosecution witness, stood by the paper’s decision to use the report by news agency Bloomberg and said Apple Daily had often referred to stories by foreign media agencies.

“Bloomberg said in its report they had secured those names. We citing the Bloomberg report should not pose any problems,” she said as the trial entered its 32nd day.

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Chan stressed that Apple Daily did not propose any names for sanctions, but acknowledged the tabloid’s report was framed in a way that was consistent with Lai’s views on the matter.

“He was eager to know which names were on the list,” Chan said.

Lai has pleaded not guilty to two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-decreed national security law, as well as a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications under colonial-era legislation.

Prosecutors on Monday continued to examine Chan’s evidence in relation to a series of allegedly offensive articles in Apple Daily after the national security law came into force on June 30, 2020.

Cheung drew the court’s attention to an article dated August 14 that year, which said the tycoon “operated the international front on Twitter [now rebranded as X] as usual” after he was released on bail by national security police.

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai wanted paper to prepare US sanctions list, court told

Chan said she believed the paper had borrowed the term “international front” from then digital director Nick Cheung Chi-wai, who had often used the expression in conversations with other staff members.

Lai’s use of social media was designed to rally international support and seek foreign pressure on Beijing and the Hong Kong government, she added.

Cheung turned his focus to Lai’s tweet on August 21, where he said he was “flattered” by Trump hailing him as a “brave man” at a press conference. Apple Daily subsequently published an article on Trump, the court heard.

Chan said the tabloid ran the print article to corroborate the already published digital version. She added the press conference was widely covered by overseas media outlets.

The prosecutors also highlighted several articles noting the allegedly seditious statements contained therein were allegations instead of attempts to raise queries about social issues. The witness agreed.

The articles included a critique written by Chan, who slammed authorities for the prosecution of dissidents through the colonial-era sedition offence and continuously shifting the “red lines”. She also argued that “whoever is in power is the bully who can call a deer a horse”.

Jimmy Lai trial told Hong Kong tycoon used political figures to back Apple Daily

Another example given was an interview with Chan carried out by Apple Daily reporters before she and other senior executives were arrested in June 2021.

She spoke of a prison visit to the tycoon after he was remanded in custody in connection with the allegations before the court.

The report, dated June 18, 2021, said Lai asked Apple Daily staff to continue to run the newspaper and sought to reassure them that everything would be fine.

Prosecutors alleged the article was offensive as it sought to arouse readers’ sympathy for Lai and his illegal acts.

Chan also admitted endorsing the publication of a statement on behalf of Apple Daily, where it vowed to never be “resigned to its fate” after Lai was remanded in custody in December 2020.

The defence is expected to start its cross-examination of Chan on Tuesday when the trial continues.