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Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai insisted on pressing ahead with sanctions bid after national security law took effect, court hears
- Apple Daily founder believed legislation imposed in 2020 was ‘all bark and no bite’ after being urged to consider his personal safety, key prosecution witness says
- ‘[Lai] went on to say he would set an example himself and continue to call for sanctions and attention in different media,’ witness adds
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Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying believed the national security law was “all bark and no bite” and insisted efforts to trigger international sanctions should continue even after the legislation took effect four years ago, a key prosecution witness has told a court.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also highlighted text exchanges between the Apple Daily founder and paralegal Wayland Chan Tsz-wah after news about the Beijing-decreed legislation broke amid China’s annual “two sessions” political meetings in Beijing in May 2020.
West Kowloon Court heard Chan, who had connected Lai to activists drumming up foreign support for the 2019 anti-government protests, appealed to the tycoon to prioritise his personal safety over his international endeavours.
But the tycoon said he was prepared to carry on until the end when he decided to join “the fight for freedom”.
“Let’s not worry about personal security,” he wrote. “We may not win but must persist.”
Prosecution witness Chan testified he had revealed similar concerns to Lai during a covert meeting at the headquarters of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid in Tseung Kwan O the following month.
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