Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying refused to publish pro-China articles in the English edition of Apple Daily and only chose pro-democracy articles as he wanted to use the newspaper to influence American readers, former Apple Daily publisher Cheung Kim-hung told the court yesterday.
Lai in May 2020 said he hoped that if foreign readers who supported Hong Kong could subscribe to Apple Daily’s English edition, it would bring “huge assistance” to the newspaper, adding US readers could become a “lever” between the newspaper and US politicians, Cheung said.
Continuing to testify as a prosecution accomplice witness at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court yesterday, the 62-year-old Cheung said Lai, 76, had created a WhatsApp chat group “English News” around mid-May 2020 in which Lai was eager for the launch of the English edition as soon as possible. A digital version was later launched in the same month.
Lai added Cheung to the group chat together with former associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-Kwong and digital director Cheung Chi-wai.
Former Apple Daily editorial writer Fung Wai-kong joined the chat group at a later time, Cheung said.
When Lai first created the chat group, he made it very clear that it was a “very suitable moment” to launch the Apple Daily English news, Cheung said, adding Lai wanted the English edition to reach the US.
Some of the articles published in the English version were translated from the Chinese edition.
Asked how the articles were selected for translation, Cheung said this was done by Fung using a framework set out by Lai’s editorial principles.
Lai had said that the selection of writers and articles should maintain a “yellow” stance and should not include any “pro-China” content, Cheung said.
Lai’s online program “Live Chat with Jimmy Lai” had been publicly available online on different platforms of Apple Daily, including its website, social media and mobile app since July 2020.
Asked why Lai started the program, Cheung said Lai hoped to interview scholars, politicians and former foreign government officials after the enactment of the National Security Law.
“Since these figures were influential, he could create some public opinion [through the program],” Cheung said, adding Lai hoped foreign countries could “offer assistance to Hong Kong.”
National security judge Alex Lee Wan-tang asked who invited the guests but Cheung said he wasn’t involved in the program.
Cheung added the invitations were done by Lai and his assistant Mark Simon, while Apple Daily’s digital director Cheung Chi-wai was responsible for uploading the videos online.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp chat records between Lai and Cheung showed that on March 23, 2019, Lai forwarded Cheung a message from former US consul general in Hong Kong James Cunningham, and instructed Cheung to use the news of former chief secretary for administration Anson Chan Fang On-sang meeting former US vice president Mike Pence to the “maximum effect.”
Cheung then forwarded Lai’s messages to Chan Pui-man, and requested editor-in-chief Law to try to interview Anson Chan and her accompanying personnel.
The news was placed on the newspaper’s app “focus area,” while users also received push notifications about the article. It also became the headline story of Apple Daily’s print edition the next day.
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