Jimmy Lai instructed Hong Kong and Taiwan editions of Apple Daily to incite social atmosphere, former publisher says

Jimmy Lai Chee-ying instructed both Hong Kong and Taiwan editions of Apple Daily to produce a significant number of interviews with protesters and opposition leaders to incite the already heated social atmosphere, former publisher Cheung Kin-hung testified on the 13th day of the trial.

Cheung, also the former CEO of Next Digital founded by Lai, continued to testify at the West Kowloon Court as the prosecution accomplice witness for the third day.

The prosecution cited a text message Lai sent to Cheung on July 11, 2019, about former US State Department senior advisor Christian Whiton sharing a news article with former US Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.

The article titled “Trump Team Sends Defiant Signal to Beijing by Meeting Hong Kong Activist” was published by Bloomberg the day before, the court heard.

The article said officials of the Donald Trump administration “signaled support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong and defiance toward the Chinese government.”

The article also recalled that Lai had met with then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, then-US Vice President Mike Pence, then-State Secretary Michael Pompeo, and then-Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Cory Gardner and Rick Scott.

Cheung said after meeting the US officials, Lai had been speaking of sanctions more and more often and the editorial direction of Apple Daily had been more aggravating.

When asked how the editorial direction had changed since then, Cheung said: “[The newspaper] would express sympathy towards the violent clashes during the unrest, believing that it was the government and Beijing which pushed [protesters] to such situation.”

Cheung continued that “we were all a bit high” after seeing that Lai could actually meet with US officials. “There seemed to be hopes for the anti-extradition bill movement,” he also said.

Cheung added that apart from WhatsApp messages, Lai had given orders in the “lunchbox meetings” for the Taiwan Apple Daily, asking staff to increase the number of video talks from four a week to forty a week.

The Hong Kong edition was given similar orders as the staff was told to upload interviews with democrats, prominent opposition and public figures, and protesters onto the mobile app. Cheung believed the move was to incite the public’s emotions and sympathy towards protesters.

Cheung also recalled that in April 2019, he was asked by Lai to interview Lam Wing-kee, the owner of Causeway Bay Books who disappeared and was found detained by mainland authorities.

Cheung continued that he spoke to Lam and wrote the interview himself in Taiwan. He then sent the interview to both the Hong Kong and Taiwan editions. Cheung also reminded Chan Pui-man, former associate publisher of Hong Kong Apple Daily, that Lai wanted to use the interview for the newspaper’s front-page to promote the demonstration on April 28.

Lai later found the impact brought by Lam’s interview was limited, and further asked Benedict Rogers, founder of Hong Kong Watch, to interview the city’s last governor Chris Patten under British rule, Cheung pointed out.

Cheung also admitted that a part of the incomes generated by Apple Daily was used in the anti-extradition bill movement. A message from Cheung to Lai read: “As of 2 am today [July 5, 2019], the number of paid subscribers has exceeded 300,000!”

He said Lai had approved to donate HK$1 in every HK$3 of service fee charged from readers to a prosecution fund for the movement.

The trial will continue next Tuesday.