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Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai stopped use of pro-government writers after Apple Daily founder turned ‘radical’, national security trial told
- Former Apple Daily editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee says Lai changed tack after the 2019 protests, which he had supported
- Yeung tells West Kowloon Court editorials had to follow tabloid’s ‘fundamental’ principles but also ‘take note of Mr Lai’s views and stances’
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Hong Kong’s Apple Daily stopped commissioning pro-government contributors to write articles for the now-closed newspaper after founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying turned “radical” a year before protests broke out in 2019, the mogul’s national security trial has heard.
Yeung Ching-kee, a former editorial writer at the tabloid, said on Wednesday that Apple Daily’s viewpoints in editorial articles had to be consistent with the opinions of Lai, who supported the 2019 protests and later international sanctions on mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials over allegations of human rights violations.
“As editorial writers, we knew we had to follow the newspaper’s fundamental stances,” Yeung told West Kowloon Court. “In addition, we had to take note of Mr Lai’s views and stances.”
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Yeung, a defendant turned prosecution witness, continued to explain decisions made in Apple Daily’s comment section as Lai’s trial entered its 39th day.
Lai, 76, denies two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-decreed national security law, and a third alleged offence of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications under colonial-era legislation.
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