Lai 'went against pan-dem opinion in US sanctions drive'

Eunice Lam

Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying pushed for the "One Hongkonger One Letter to Save Hong Kong" campaign to seek US intervention in Hong Kong's affairs despite opposition from senior management at his Apple Daily newspaper, former associate publisher Chan Pui-man told the court yesterday.

Lai also said on his Twitter (now X) account that the United States should consider imposing sanctions on people who supported the enactment of the national security law.

The campaign, published on Apple Daily's front page on May 24, 2020, aimed to seek US intervention in Hong Kong's affairs.

Chan clarified that the campaign was launched as a result of Lai's personal decision and was not endorsed by Apple Daily staff.

It called on the public to write a signed letter to then-US president Donald Trump, urging him to interrupt the enactment of the law, under which Lai is ironically facing charges, and impose sanctions on China and those involved.

Yesterday was the ninth day that Chan, 53, testified at the trial of the 76-year-old Lai at a West Kowloon magistrate's court.

Chan said Lai suggested the campaign the day before its publication, but both she and former publisher Cheung Kim-hung disagreed with the campaign's being launched under the Apple Daily umbrella.

Chan even proposed Lai place a personal front-page advertisement instead, but he insisted on proceeding with the campaign.

According to WhatsApp chat records presented in court, Lai acknowledged that "a lot of people don't agree" with the campaign, including Democratic Party founding chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming. However, Lai, she said, believed that the crisis in Hong Kong required bravery rather than caution and cleverness.

The court heard that the campaign's letter template was published multiple times on May 24, 25, and 27 of that year, both in printed and digital versions of Apple Daily.

Following the launch, Chan shared with Lai a social media post by activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung that criticized the campaign's explicit call for Trump to "save Hong Kong" as overly sentimental.

Chan hoped that sharing Wong's post would dissuade Lai from continuing to pursue the campaign.

Also on May 23, 2020, Chan sent Lai a photo featuring Chinese government officials, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress and former chief secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen holding a banner in support of the law.

Chan said that she provided this photo in response to Lai's request for "hot topics" to post on his Twitter account. Lai later posted the photo on Twitter, questioning whether the US government should include these officials on the sanctions list.

Chan claimed she was not involved in creating Lai's Twitter content. On May 13, 2020, Lai sent Chan a WhatsApp message saying "Those who write good English articles also include (former Democratic Party chairwoman Emily) Lau Wai-hing, please invite her to write [for us]."

However, Chan said she did not assist the Apple Daily English edition in finding a writer.