Activist Andy Li Yu-hin was invited by paralegal Chan Tsz-wah to a meeting with US Republican Senator Rick Scott together with Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Lai's assistant Mark Simon in late September 2019, the court heard yesterday.

A British observation delegation was invited to come to Hong Kong and monitor the District Council elections the same year

Entering the 50th day of the trial of Lai, 76, it was also the seventh trial day of Li, 33, who was among 12 people caught while attempting to flee to Taiwan in August 2020.

Li - a member of pro-independence group Hong Kong Story - said he first knew Simon via a WhatsApp group set up by Chan on September 29, 2019.

He later met Simon in person when meeting with Scott in a residential unit at Mid-Levels that night and noted they didn't have any further communication beyond the self-introduction at the very beginning.

"[Chan believed] it would be more effective if they let me do the lobbying," Li said.

He explained that the meeting with Scott came after Chan was impressed by Li's visit to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, and Chan suggested Li could "present how the UN proposed which ain't working."

Meanwhile, Li also said Hong Kong Story and another pro-independence group "Fight for Freedom, Stand With Hong Kong (SWHK)" initiated an election observation mission to observe the district council election in Hong Kong in November 2019.

The idea first stemmed from the "Laam Chau" team, led by UK-based activist Finn Lau Cho-dik, also known as "Laam Chau Baa," which said that Lord David Alton wanted to watch the elections and hoped to be invited by local groups.

Hong Kong Story then invited more overseas politicians, including Luke de Pulford from the UK.

Before the EOM members arrived in Hong Kong, they would delete all relevant messages on their phones as they worried they would be listed as "persona non grata" by the SAR government and barred from leaving the city.

Li said he met with de Pulford and Alton in Hotel W Hong Kong alongside Democratic Party's founder Martin Lee Chu-ming and former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang after the elections.

Asked about the expenditure of EOM, Li said the "G Laam" crowdfunding covered some HK$552,000, while Simon had offered another HK$500,000, after which Li told Chan that he didn't have sufficient capital to run the EOM.

Li also confirmed that he met Scott again in US in December 2019, as well as then-US senators Ted Cruz and Todd Young under activist Samuel Chu Muk-man.

Li said the goal of the meeting with Scott in America was to explain the protest situation in Hong Kong, and said the US's Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act would be used to "hold perpetrators of human rights accountable," which included imposing sanctions.

After Li returned to Hong Kong, members of SWHK proposed to make a list of suggested officials to be sanctioned to the senators.

The document was handed to Chu on December 16, 2019.

Andy Li

Pro-democracy group invited foreign politicians to observe election, activist tells court