The trial on the case of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces involving Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital, and three Apple Daily companies continued, with former Apple Daily President Cheung Kim-hung testifying for the fifth day. The prosecution focused on questions related to the English edition of Apple Daily, and Cheung Kim-hung stated that Jimmy Lai explicitly expressed the desire for the English edition to seek overseas support. The editorial policy did not need to consider neutrality; instead, it should concentrate on reporting the perspectives of the “Yellow Camp.”

The prosecution presented messages from Jimmy Lai to Cheung Kim-hung, indicating that Lai had asked Cheung to concurrently serve as the publisher of the English edition of Apple Daily. Cheung Kim-hung denied this in court, stating that at the time of the incident, the executive editor of the English edition, Fung Wai-kwong, was responsible for its operations. Fung reported the work to Cheung, who then reported to Lai.

Cheung Kim-hung also explained the editorial policy of the English edition, noting that Jimmy Lai once mentioned that there was no need to consider presenting a balanced view to foreign readers. Instead, the focus should be on reporting the perspectives of the “Yellow Camp.” When asked if this policy applied to the Chinese edition of Apple Daily, Cheung Kim-hung responded that the English edition was even more extreme, while the Chinese edition featured more diverse news, not necessarily all negative.

He further explained that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimmy Lai believed that the situation made foreigners perceive the Chinese government as having many problems. Lai aimed to shape an image for foreign readers of the Chinese Communist Party suppressing human rights, concealing information, and lacking credibility, intending to provide more reasons for the United States to take hostile actions against China.

Cheung Kim-hung also mentioned that Jimmy Lai expressed expectations for the English edition to appeal to American readers, hoping that Americans would become a “lever” for Apple Daily and U.S. politics. When questioned about the meaning of “lever,” Cheung explained it referred to influencing public opinion in the United States, thus impacting U.S. politics and assisting Hong Kong, as well as protecting Apple Daily.

The prosecution also presented evidence that Jimmy Lai had, in a WhatsApp group, expressed to his assistant Mark Simon the desire to have then-Vice President Pence subscribe to the English edition of Apple Daily. Cheung Kim-hung testified that Lai had instructed Mark Simon to approach then-President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for subscriptions to the English edition of Apple Daily, hoping to provide the “maximum political protection” for Apple Daily. However, the plan was unsuccessful because they were high-ranking officials, and their payment records could not be retained on the Apple Daily website.

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“Ming Pao” Live Text Coverage of the Hearing

【16:26】Court adjourned.

【16:10】Cheung Kim-hung continues to mention that the first broadcast date of “Twitter Live” was on July 9, 2020, with only Jimmy Lai speaking initially. By July 30, when the program was aired for the second time, it transitioned to inviting guests for discussions. On that day, Cheung Chi-wai sent a message to the group, stating that the guests were Mark Clifford and Ray Berhart. Cheung Kim-hung claims not to know Berhart. When asked if the program was initially a weekly occurrence, Cheung replied that it wasn’t, but later on, it became a weekly show, and towards the end of November, it became more frequent, sometimes airing once or twice a week.

【15:51】Court session began. The prosecution presented another message involving Jimmy Lai instructing Cheung Kim-hung to contact a woman named Lucia. Cheung stated that Lucia was originally an employee of a Taiwan company who worked for Jimmy Lai, but was introduced to him by Mark Simon because of her familiarity with social media. She could assist the English version of “Apple Daily” in breaking into the overseas market. Following instructions, Cheung recruited Lucia to work for “Taiwan Apple Daily,” providing suggestions for the operation of “Twitter Live.”

The prosecution further showed another message from July 3 of the same year, where Cheung Chi-wai sent a message in the group:

Cheung Chi-wai: Everyone, according to IC reports, as of yesterday (July 2), the active users of our Apple English version have exceeded 300,000.

Cheung Kim-hung explains that “active users” refer to the total number of times the Apple English version webpage has been viewed.

【15:27】Court adjourned.

【15:15】The prosecution brought up events from June 30, 2020, when Cheung Chi-wai sent a message to the group.

Cheung Chi-wai: The boss plans to do Twitter Live, aiming to interact with foreign readers, go international. I suggest the following approach…

Cheung Kim-hung: Should we start the day after tomorrow? The evil law has just come into effect.

Cheung explained that “Twitter Live” is the precursor to the “Live Chat with Jimmy Lai” program. Initially, there were no guests, but later, when guests were introduced, their conversations were broadcasted. The term “evil law” refers to the Hong Kong National Security Law.

The prosecution asks why “Twitter Live” is related to the National Security Law. Cheung Kim-hung explained that Jimmy Lai was preparing to interview foreign personalities to discuss the current situation in Hong Kong, the impact of the National Security Law, and seek support from abroad. Due to Jimmy Lai’s concern about the impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong and “Apple Daily,” Cheung speculated that Jimmy Lai wanted to express his views on the law, its impact on Hong Kong, and “Apple Daily” immediately. This is why Cheung asked if the program should start on July 2.

【15:10】The prosecution continued to present two messages from Cheung Chi-wai, mentioning the promotion of the English version of Apple Daily. One mentions, “Starting today, Monday (June 1, 2020), for five consecutive days until Friday night at 8 pm, we will push promotional content for the English version of Apple Daily articles. This push will be a worldwide push, and everyone will receive and see the content.” The message also includes a hyperlink to “North America Apple Daily.” Cheung Kim-hung explained that at that time, Apple Daily introduced a separate subscription website called “North America Apple Daily,” offering news from both “Apple Daily” and “Taiwan Apple Daily.” The service targeted readers in the United States and Canada.

【14:55】The prosecution displayed messages from the “English News” WhatsApp group. Cheung Chi-wai (Director of Next Animation Studio at the time) mentioned on June 1, 2020, that “Luke De Pulford is promoting our Apple Daily English version on Twitter and expressed interest in writing columns for our English version of Apple.”

Cheung Kim-hung states in court that Luke De Pulford is a member of the UK Conservative Party and a member of a human rights organization. However, he did not pay attention to whether Luke De Pulford ever wrote columns for “Apple Daily.”

Cheung also mentions that, due to strict privacy laws in EU countries regarding mobile applications, downloading “Apple Daily” was not allowed in the EU region. However, there should not be any issues elsewhere, except in China.

【14:30】Court began. The prosecution continued to ask about the operation of the English version of “Apple Daily.” Cheung Kim-hung indicates that it was only in early June 2020 that Apple Daily handed over the management of the English version to Fung Wai-kong. Before that, no one was solely responsible for managing the English version. Fung’s responsibilities included selecting news for translation, managing the translation team, and contacting English writers. Cheung adds that a user named “Lu Feng” (Fung’s pen name) appeared in the “English News” WhatsApp group from the beginning, so Cheung guesses that Jimmy Lai added Fung to the group early on, though he did not notice it before.

【12:45】Court recess.

【12:25】The prosecution shows a message from the same day in which Jimmy Lai instructs Cheung Kim-hung, “The situation compels it. Please assume the role of the publisher of Apple Daily’s English version.” Cheung Kim-hung denies being the publisher of the English version of “Apple Daily” in court, stating that Fung Wai-kong, the Executive Chief Editor at the time, was responsible for the operation of the English version. Fung reported directly to Cheung, who then reported to Jimmy Lai.

【12:19】Cheung Kim-hung indicated that the English version of “Apple Daily” was launched on May 25 of the same year. Initially, it was released as a web version, and later, the mobile application version was launched after approval from the Apple App Store.

The prosecution later discussed the messages between Jimmy Lai and Cheung Kim-hung on May 19 of the same year regarding the English version of “Apple Daily.” Jimmy mentioned, “The current Sino-U.S. confrontation has raised Taiwan’s strategic importance to the United States. Cheung stated that this information was related to Jimmy’s editorial instructions, i.e., “China’s threat to Taiwan will make Americans more sympathetic” and “Jimmy Lai’s view is that if Taiwan has U.S. protection, business investments will be more secure.” Therefore, Jimmy Lai requested Cheung to report more related news.

Cheung added that Jimmy Lai’s intention was to make Americans pay more attention to the situation where China is threatening Taiwan. When asked if this move was intended to criticize China negatively, Cheung confirmed.

【11:53】 Court session began. The prosecution continued to inquire about information within the “English News” WhatsApp group. One message from May 12, 2020, is presented:

Jimmy Lai: Especially, the subscription of American political figures to Apple Daily is more important for our political protection. I still believe that the English version needs to be set within our app.

Cheung Kim-hung interprets the message, understanding it as one of Jimmy Lai’s purposes in founding the English version of “Apple Daily.” That is, he hopes that American political figures, by subscribing to “Apple Daily,” can provide political protection for the publication.

Another message sent the following day:

Jimmy Lai: The more I think about it, the more I feel that the English version should focus on news from the mainland, special features, and behind-the-scenes articles. Given the surge of anti-China sentiment after the pandemic, these are what Americans need to see the most.

Cheung Kim-hung mentioned that Jimmy Lai had previously stated that the COVID-19 pandemic intensified anti-China sentiment in the United States, and “that’s why Americans now need to read these anti-China articles.”

【11:14】 Morning recess. Jimmy Lai provided instructions to his lawyer in the defendant’s dock.

【11:00】The prosecution continues to present information from the WhatsApp group, showing that Jimmy Lai expressed a desire to “Mark” that he wanted to have the then Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, subscribe to the English version of “Apple Daily.” Cheung Kim-hung said in the court that “Mark” refers to Jimmy’s assistant Mark Simon. According to Cheung’s understanding, Jimmy Lai had instructed Mark Simon to arrange subscriptions for the English version of “Apple Daily” with the then President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, hoping for the “maximum political protection” for “Apple Daily.” However, the plan was unsuccessful because they were government officials, and their payment records could not be kept on the “Apple Daily” website.

Another message indicates that Jimmy Lai instructed when inviting columnists, “There is no need to consider showing a balanced view to foreign readers. We only need to focus on the perspectives of ‘Apple Daily’ in Hong Kong, reporting the viewpoints of the ‘Yellow Camp.'” He also suggested not inviting Weijian Shan, the chairman of the PAG Group, to write articles, even though “he is my friend and a popular Chinese writer in the West, but his positive views on China are not needed by us. We don’t need balance; we just need to focus on protecting the perspectives of the people in Hong Kong, which is the voice the world wants to hear.”

Judge Lee asked whether the same policy applied to the Chinese version of “Apple Daily.” Cheung Kim-hung described the English version as “even more extreme,” selecting more negative news, whereas the Chinese version had more diverse news and was not necessarily all negative. Regarding Jimmy Lai’s intention to present a certain image of China to foreign readers through the English version, Cheung believed that at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimmy Lai wanted to convey that China’s political regime had many problems, aiming to portray the Chinese Communist Party as suppressing human rights, concealing information, and lacking credibility, hoping to provide more reasons for the United States to take hostile actions against China.

【10:30】 The prosecution presented a message from May 10, 2020, where Jimmy Lai mentioned Fung Hei-gon’s (馮晞乾) suggestion of an English-translated news electronic version. Cheung stated that Fung was a columnist for “Apple Daily,” and confirmed that he was the person who suggested the idea. On the same day, Cheung responded to Jimmy Lai, suggesting focusing on important topics instead of news, such as Article 22 of the Basic Law and the case of Rupert Dover. Cheung proposed recruiting a group of dedicated university students to start with in-depth features. Cheung explained that Article 22 of the Basic Law was considered significant by Jimmy Lai, as it involved the Liaison Office having a direct impact on Hong Kong affairs. Rupert Dover was a police officer at the time who was accused of unauthorized building works. Cheung used these examples to suggest featuring such in-depth topics in the English version.

Jimmy Lai later expressed his expectations for the English version and said, “If foreigners want to support us, to support Hong Kong, then we would be saved. The more I think about it, the more I feel that the English version is something we must do now.” Cheung believed that Jimmy Lai wanted to simultaneously seek financial support and political protection for the English version. Jimmy Lai also sent messages to various high-level members in the group, reminding them to “make efforts to promote this matter quickly. Many major U.S. media want to interview me to support us. It’s time to reach U.S. readers and make their presence a lever for us with U.S. politics, which would be a huge support pillar.”

Regarding the methods and channels of disseminating messages, Lai said he would leave it to Mark Simon to handle, emphasizing the need to improve content quality first.

【10:02】 Court session begins.
Cheung Kim-hung, in previous testimony, mentioned that Jimmy Lai hoped to gain the attention of Western democratic countries by launching the English version of “Apple Daily,” and the prosecution focuses on this area. Cheung, in today’s testimony, stated that Jimmy Lai made it clear that the criteria for selecting English version writers were to support “Apple Daily” and Hong Kong’s views, without needing to be balanced. Cheung also mentioned that Jimmy once stated that after the outbreak of COVID-19, “anti-China sentiment is most needed in the United States,” hoping that Americans would become a “lever” for “Apple Daily” with U.S. politics. Judge Alex Lee asked about the meaning of “lever,” and Cheung said it meant influencing American public opinion, thus having an impact on U.S. politics. “Doing hostile actions could help Hong Kong and protect ‘Apple Daily’.”

Ming Pao reporters Celine Tam, Tong Bik-yu, Yeung Ji-kyun

Ming Pao