Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai wanted to ‘unite different sectors’ to achieve ‘China implosion,’ court hears
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai had wanted to bring together legislators, overseas groups, the power of the community, and other sectors to achieve “China implosion,” a court has heard during a landmark trial under the Beijing-imposed national security law.
Paralegal Chan Tsz-wah, who stands accused of conspiring with Lai and others to collude with foreign forces, told the court on Friday that the Apple Daily founder mentioned the idea of bringing China to economic collapse and the fall of its political regime in January 2020.
Lai faces two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiring to publish “seditious” materials. He has pleaded not guilty to all three charges and could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted.
Testifying for the prosecution, Chan recalled Lai as saying in a meeting in Taiwan on January 11, 2020, that Hong Kong activists should fight for international recognition to prompt overseas governments to impose embargoes and sanctions on Hong Kong authorities.
“We need to unite with different sectors, together with the community power, only then could we achieve China implosion,” Chan testified Lai had said before three handpicked national security judges.
The sectors included the legislature, overseas organisations, forces on the street, the international front, and business people, who Lai said were “dissatisfied,” Chan told the court. Community power meant that people’s grievances were required, the paralegal said.
The discussion in Taiwan came after Hong Kong was rocked by large-scale protests triggered by a proposed amendment to the city’s extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment.
The media tycoon told UK-based activist Finn Lau, also known as “Mutual Destruction Bro,” who was a leader of activist group Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong (SWHK), to make better use of his resources to promote sanctions against Hong Kong, Chan said.
‘People beneath the table’
According to Chan, Lai said at the same meeting that another SWHK activist Andy Li should have met “people beneath the table” during his trip to the US in September 2019, rather than US politicians such as Rick Scott, Ted Cruz and Todd Young.
People who were considered “people beneath the table” included political consultants and national policy planners, the paralegal told the court.
Asked whether Lai explained the purpose of meeting individuals behind the scenes, Chan said the tycoon gave an example of low-ranking officials, who came to know pro-democracy activists when they were all young. Such officials may rise through the ranks one or two decades later and become a high-ranking politician.
“This kind of relationship would be very useful. The example [Lai gave] was Anson Chan and Nancy Pelosi,” Chan said, referring to the ex-chief secretary of Hong Kong and the former US house speaker.
Lai said such ties would be useful for carrying out international lobbying work for “anti-China policies,” Chan added.
‘Political star’
In the same meeting, Lai expressed interest in cultivating Lau as a “political star,” Chan told the court.
The tycoon had offered to pay the activist £100,000 (HK$976,100) as living expenses, the paralegal said, adding he was unsure if it was a monthly payment or not. Lau did not want accept the offer right away and he did not want to become a political star, Chan said.
During that Taiwan trip, Chan and Lau also met with Taiwanese political figure Shih Ming-teh, whom Lai said they could learn “resistance technique” from.
According to Chan, Shih told Lau that he should not think he could “get away with” the things he had done and he should not think that he could “avoid the consequences.”
The Taiwanese activist also said that it would be “even better” if Lau was arrested in Hong Kong, because his arrest could generate the support from the people and protesters who were imprisoned, Chan testified.
“[Shih] encouraged Lau to uphold the spirit of sacrifice. [He said] you cannot ask others to do this, yet you do not make the sacrifice,” Chan recalled in court.
Primary election
Lai offered to help political novices gain media exposure or provide financial assistance to them if they agreed to enter a legislative primary election, Chan told the court.
The polls aimed to help the pro-democracy camp win a controlling majority in the 2020 Legislative Council election, which was later postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In his testimony on Wednesday, Chan said Lai first mentioned the idea of conducting a primary election in late November 2019, after pro-democracy candidates won a historic landslide victory in the District Council election.
Chan told the court on Friday that Lai was willing to give financial support to the primary election, saying he had invested money in the ThunderGo project. It was a voting strategy advocated by then-law professor Benny Tai, which aimed to coordinate votes to help pan-democratic candidates secure more than half of the seats in the legislature.
The prosecution later showed WhatsApp records from mid-February 2020 between Chan and Lai, with the paralegal sharing a name list with the media tycoon. The list featured Eddie Chu, Nathan Law, Sunny Cheung, Lester Shum, Gwyneth Ho and others, who were said to have indicated that they did not want to be bound by the primary election.
“We’ve to work on them. But if the [primary] has legitimacy, they will have to join,” a WhatsApp message from Lai to Chan in English read.
Chan will continue to testify next Tuesday.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
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