Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai sought US support for protests but denies inciting hatred

Former media boss tells court he had capitalised on ‘anti-China sentiments’ during the pandemic to boost his US readership

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Jimmy Lai is brought to West Kowloon Court in a prison vehicle on Friday morning. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 10:34pm, 22 Nov 2024Updated: 1:27am, 23 Nov 2024

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying lobbied for US support for the 2019 anti-government protests through his now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid, he told a court on Friday, while also denying he had incited hatred through a series of articles he wrote.

But Lai, 76, admitted in his high-profile national security trial that he had capitalised on “anti-China sentiments” during the Covid-19 pandemic to boost his US readership in a bid to secure “political protection”.

Continuing his oral testimony for a third day in West Kowloon Court, Lai said he wanted US backing to ward off what he saw as mainland China’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s fundamental freedoms.

He rejected the prosecutors’ contention that his appeals for US support constituted foreign interference and stressed he had only wished to propel overseas governments into trying to change Hong Kong’s political situation through diplomatic means.

Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to three conspiracy charges related to sedition and collusion with foreign forces, was asked by his lawyer to explain why he had set up an online English platform for Apple Daily as well as his thoughts behind commentaries he wrote which allegedly provoked anti-government sentiment.

He apologised over a January 2020 article in which he offered “cheap” praise to a teenager for cursing police, concurring with his counsel’s suggestion his remarks were “of bad taste” and “offensive”.