Lai a generous but cruel boss, Apple Daily skirt rules under NSL, court heard

Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is a generous yet cruel boss, said its former editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee on the 40th day of Lai's national security trial.

The former editorial writer also said articles published on Apple Daily’s forum section have been skirting the rules under the National Security Law to avoid breaking the law.

Yeung, 58, who used to run the forum section, said this on his fourth day testifying against the 76-year-old on Thursday.

He described Lai as a paradoxical figure - a generous boss who turned his staff into millionaires through stock distribution, and yet, a brutal boss who would not hesitate to replace those who deviated from his vision.

Asked by the judge why the management should follow Lai’s directive, especially when Lai did not hold an official role in the operation of Apple Daily between 2019 and 2020, Yeung said those who did not comply would be removed from office.

He said Lai constantly sought change in news reporting, with the most effective way being a change in its management. He also recalled that senior management staff had been replaced for up to eight times during his 23 years working in Apple Daily.

Meanwhile, Yeung acknowledged that all his critics and articles published in the forum sections are in favor of foreign sanctions on Hong Kong.

However, following the enactment of the 2020 national security law, he had taken the approach of skirting the rules in his work to avoid breaking the law.

His work would focus on analyzing the effects of the foreign sanctions to maintain the newspaper’s stance of supporting the sanctions.