Next Media founder Jimmy Lai and three companies of “Apple Daily” were accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces. The trial entered the 12th day. The prosecution summoned former “Apple Daily” president Cheung Kim-hung to testify. This was the second day Cheung Kim-hung testified and he mainly explained the operation of the English version of “Apple Daily”. He pointed out that Jimmy Lai was eager to establish the English version of “Apple Daily” in 2020. He said that subscriptions from foreign readers would be of great help to “Apple Daily” and hoped that the English version would “go to the United States,” Cheung said Lai “hoped American readers would become a lever for Apple Daily and American politics.”

Cheung Kim-hung testified for the second day and continued to take questions from the prosecution. Jimmy Lai appeared in court wearing a brown leather jacket and a white shirt. When he appeared in court, he smiled and nodded to his relatives and friends, clasping his hands together. The prosecution is concerned about the establishment and operation of “Apple Daily’s” English version. Cheung Kim-hung pointed out that Jimmy Lai established a chat group called “English News” in May 2020, and added him, Apple Daily’s vice president Chan Pui-man, Apple Daily’s animated news platform director Cheung Chi-wai, Apple Daily executive editor Fung Wai-kong and other team leaders to the group and told everyone to establish an English version of “Apple Daily” as soon as possible. Cheung pointed out that Lai thought it was the right time. “Lai was very eager to release the English version and wanted it to be ready as soon as possible and urged IT colleagues to make a web page.” He believed that “if foreign readers could support it by subscribing to the English version of Apple Daily, It would be of great help to Apple Daily.” “This English version…he hoped it would reach the United States.” He also mentioned that Jimmy Lai once said, “I hope American readers will become a lever for Apple Daily and American politics.”

Cheung Kim-hung continued to point out that Jimmy Lai gave guidelines for selecting writers for the English version at that time, including that the writers’ political stance should be “yellow” and “not pro-China”. He also instructed the staff to select articles in the Chinese version that talked about “protests, resistance, and sanctions” to be translated to English. However, he pointed out that Lai would not tell his subordinates to “please pick this article.” Instead, Fung Wai-kong, then executive editor of Apple Daily who was responsible for the English version of Apple Daily, would select articles based on Lai’s framework.

Cheung claims Jimmy Lai wanted to stir public discussion by hosting talk show

The prosecution also focused on the talk show “Live Chat with Jimmy Lai” that Jimmy Lai once hosted. Cheung Kim-hung said, “Mr. Lai hoped that after the National Security Law is passed, he could interview well-known scholars, politicians, and officials, because they are influential people and hope to create public discussion.” He also planned to mention the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong’s rule of law and its status as a financial center. Cheung said he was not involved in the production of the program and said Jimmy Lai and his assistant Mark Simon were responsible for inviting guests.

The former US consul in Hong Kong once advised the direction of reporting
The prosecution’s questions also touched on Apple Daily’s front page story in March 2019 that talked about the meeting between former Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan and then U.S. Vice President Mike Pence prior to the anti-extradition demonstrations. The prosecution also presented the chat records between Cheung Kim-hung and Jimmy Lai on WhatsApp, on which they mentioned the meeting between Chan and Pence. Cheung Kim-hung said that at the time, “Mr. Lai said this was major news, and he told me to make this news as big as possible.” Later, he discussed with Ryan Law Wai-kwong and followed up on Jimmy Lai’s instructions, “for example, whether he wanted an interview with Anson Chan or his entourage, hoping to get more detailed content.” He also conveyed the message to Chan Pui-man to let Chan know Jimmy Lai’s instructions.

The prosecution further mentioned that Jimmy Lai sent a message to Cheung Kim-hung with the content of “Advice from James Cunningham”. Cheung Kim-hung also revealed that Cunningham is the former U.S. Consul General for Hong Kong and Macau, and that the purpose of Lai’s message was to point out that “Mr. Cunningham proposed to maximize the effect of this news.”

“Mingpao” live text update of the trial:

[16:22] The court has adjourned and the trial will continue tomorrow.

[16:13] The prosecution mentioned that Jimmy Lai once sent a message to Cheung Kim-hung with the content that says “Advice from James Cunningham”. Cheung pointed out that Cunningham was the former US consul General for Hong Kong and Macau, and said that Lai’s message was that “Mr. James Cunningham proposed to maximize the effect of this piece of news.”

The prosecution asked Cheung what was the relations between the message and the fact that “Apple Daily” made “Pence meets with Mrs. Chan for human rights concerns in Hong Kong” a front-page story. Cheung replied that after receiving Lai’s instructions, he first shared the information with Ryan Law Wai-kwong, making sure that they get more details about the meeting through the interviews. At the same time, Cheung Kim-hung also informed Chan Pui-man, who was in charge of the newspaper’s content, of the information and let her know that it was Lai who gave the instruction.

[15:43] The court was back in session. The prosecution continued the topic regarding Jimmy Lai’s “editorial instructions” and showed Cheung Kim-hung in court the WhatsApp conversation records between him and Lai, focusing on March 2019, when Lai sent a photo to Cheung. The content is about the meeting between former Chief Secretary for Administration Anson Chan and then US Vice President Mike Pence.

Cheung said that at that time, “Mr. Lai said this was major news, and he told me to maximize the impact of this news.” After that, “Me and Ryan Law Wai-kwong talked about how to maximize the impact of this news.” “For example, if we should interview Anson Chan, or her entourage, to get more detailed information.”

[15:20] Court adjourned.

[15:13] The prosecution turned to the “Live Chat with Jimmy Lai” program. Cheung said, “Mr. Lai would interview well-known scholars, politicians, and officials when the National Security Law was enacted, because they are influential people and he hoped to create public discussion.” “Mr. Lai would talk about the situation in Hong Kong during the interview, especially the impact on Hong Kong’s rule of law and its status as a financial center after the establishment of the National Security Law.”

Cheung said he was not involved in the production of the program, saying that Cheung Chi-wai (who was the director of Apple Animated News Platform at the time of the case) was responsible for handling program’s preparation work, such as recording and uploading to the website. “As for the appointment of guests, as far as I know it was Mark Simon (Assistant to Jimmy Lai) and Mr. Lai himself were responsible for this. This department has not been handled by me and my colleagues at Apple Daily.” When Cheung was asked who Mark Simon was, he replied that it was “Mr. Lai’s assistant.”

[15:02] Cheung Kim-hung continued to point out that Jimmy Lai gave guidance on how to select writers for the English version, including that the writers’ political stance should be “yellow” and “not pro-China.” In the Chinese version of “Apple Daily”, articles covering topics such as “protests, resistance, and sanctions” were selected and translated into the English version. However, Cheung added that Lai would not tell his subordinates to “please pick this article.” Instead, Fung Wai-kong, then executive editor of Apple Daily who was responsible for the English version, would select the articles based on the framework set by Lai.

[14:47] Cheung Kim-hung explained that Lai believed that it was the right time to launch the English version of “Apple Daily”. “Mr. Lai was very eager to release the English version and wanted it to be released as soon as possible, and urged IT colleagues to make a web page.” As for why Lai thought it was the right time, Cheung pointed out that Lai once said, “If foreign readers would by subscribing to the English version of Apple Daily, it will be of great help to Apple Daily.” “This English version… The hope is to reach the United States,” Cheung said in particular, “I remember he (Lai) mentioned on WhatsApp that he hopes American readers will become a lever for Apple Daily and American politics.”

[14:30] The court was in session, and Cheung Kim-hung walked to the witness stand to continue giving his testimony. The prosecution continued to yesterday’s questions about Jimmy Lai’s “editorial instructions” and asked why “Apple Daily” would introduce an English version in 2020. Cheung pointed out that Jimmy Lai set up a WhatsApp group called “English News” someday in May 2020, and added him, Chen Pui-man, Cheung Chi-wai, Fung Wai-kong and other department heads to the group, and told everyone to establish the English version of “Apple Daily” as soon as possible.

[14:20] Jimmy Lai appeared in court wearing a brown leather jacket and a white shirt. When he appeared in court, he smiled and nodded to his relatives and friends, clasping his hands together. The auditorium was filled with citizens, including actor Gregory Wong.