Lai secretly visited Taiwan to meet former legislator and activist, court told

Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying secretly visited Taiwan and met with former Taiwanese legislator and activist Shih Ming-teh in early 2020, who he sought to learn from in promoting resistance, the court heard yesterday.

On the 62nd day of Lai's trial, paralegal Chan Tsz-wah, 32, continued to testify as the fifth prosecution accomplice witness.

According to Chan, he and Finn Lau Cho-dik, also known as "Laam Chau Baa," were invited by Lai to visit Taiwan in January 2020. On January 11, 2020, Chan recounted watching the Taiwan election livestream at Lai's home accompanied by Lai, former lawmakers Lee Wing-tat and Albert Ho Chun-yan, Shih Ming-teh and a woman named Lam who had connections with courageous Hong Kong protesters.

The following day, Shih met with Chan and Lau. Later, they held a video conference with activist Andy Li Yu-hin, a former core member of the pro-independence advocacy group "Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong."

In a message sent on January 2, 2020, Lai informed Chan that he could arrange a meeting with Shih, whom he described as a "true revolutionary."

Chan remembered that Shih had been imprisoned for years due to his democracy campaign and his mass campaign against Taiwan's then-president Chen Shui-bian in 2006.

Shih had shown Chan relevant photos from that time.

Chan also revealed that during a meeting on November 27, 2019, Lai expressed his desire to form a team of protest leaders, lawmakers and individuals responsible for international lobbying.

Lai aimed to secure foreign support and take the initiative on the international front. He had also financed Chan's trips to Taiwan and the United Kingdom in December 2019, where Chan had the opportunity to meet Lau and Benedict Rogers, the founder of Hong Kong Watch.

The prosecution also questioned Chan about a meeting he had with Lai's assistant, Mark Simon, in late 2019.

During the meeting at Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Sha Tin, Simon instructed Chan to shift the strategy towards international lobbying.

Simon suggested calling on foreign governments to pressure the Special Administrative Region to address the protesters' demands.

Simon expressed dissatisfaction with Li's last-minute approach to seeking financial assistance and proposed that Chan and Li stop purchasing newspaper advertisements and focus on online promotion instead. "[Simon said] not everyone would read the newspaper and many people already knew about the situation in Hong Kong, that we no longer need to raise awareness through buying newspaper ads," Chan said. "But in fact, [overseas] politicians and governments would like to know more about Hong Kong's situation."

The court adjourned, with proceedings to continue tomorrow.