Paralegal offered escape to US, court told

Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his assistant Mark Simon offered support to paralegal Chan Tsz-wah and a potential retreat in the United States, the court was told yesterday.

They allegedly requested Chan to continue international lobbying for sanctions on Hong Kong.

Chan, 32, an accomplice witness for the prosecution, testified about his interactions on the 65th day of Lai's trial.

Chan was arrested on October 10, 2020, on charges of "assisting offenders." After being granted bail, he contacted Simon via a Signal audio call.

According to Chan, Simon reassured him, saying that he and Lai would support and arrange for his exit to the US.

Simon also instructed Chan to be prepared for arrest again for violating the national security law, and to continue advocating sanctions.

Chan said that despite the national security law implementation on June 30, 2020, the pro-independence group "Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong" US Line remained active. With the support of Lai and Simon, Chan joined the Line group chat between June and July 2020, which led others to believe he had close ties to Lai.

Simon, a member, received weekly reports of the US Line from SWHK members, including astrophysicist Shirley Ho.

Chan also said that Lai advised SWHK to understand concerns of foreign governments and establish connections referred to as being "under the table" that included political advisors and strategists.

According to Chan, both Lai and Simon showed a tendency to support the Republican Party due to its anti-China policies. Simon informed Chan that the Democratic Party in the US preferred to meet with "new faces" among protesters, such as SWHK.

At Simon's suggestion, SWHK hired a political consultancy firm aligned with the Democratic Party to engage with US officials and advocate sanctions.

"[They thought] they paid for the service but why was it not SWHK US Line to choose who to meet," Chan said.

He said Simon responded: "Paying for a service did not guarantee meeting specific individuals."

Chan had advised activist Andy Li Yu-hin, a former core member of SWHK, to leave the city due to the high risk. However, Li refused.

Eventually, he was arrested on August 10, 2020, the same day as Lai. After being granted bail, Chan helped to arrange for Li to flee to Taiwan and was caught in August 2020.

The defense is expected to begin cross-examining Chan today.

The prosecution announced Royston Chow Tat-kuen, a former senior executive of Next Digital, would be the next witness called. As requested by the defense, an expert witness and eight to 10 police officers will testify.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com