Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai hoped to contact protesters leading the “valiant camp” during the 2019 unrest and “purify” them, out of concerns they would lose the pro-democracy movement international support, an activist has testified during Lai’s landmark national security trial.
Paralegal Chan Tsz-wah, who stands accused of conspiring with Lai and others to collude with foreign forces, continued his testimony for the prosecution on Monday.
Lai, 76, is on trial for 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 face life imprisonment if convicted.
Chan met the Apple Daily founder in person for the first time in July 2019, when the city was rocked by large-scale protests triggered by a proposed amendment to the city’s extradition bill. Veteran democrat Martin Lee, who connected Chan with Lai’s aide Mark Simon, was also present at the lunch meeting in Sheung Wan.
According to Chan, the media mogul asked if he could get in touch with leaders of the valiant camp. The paralegal explained that “valiant” referred to protesters who committed violent acts during demonstrations, such as arson, hurling petrol bombs and damaging public property.
Lai had proposed a “purification scheme” for the valiant camp with the aim of asking those protesters to restrain themselves, Chan said.
“The valiant camp made the [protest] scenes not pretty,” Chan said in court citing Lai, who expressed concerns that violent acts would cause the protest movement to lose international support, especially support from the US.
Protests erupted in June 2019 over a since-axed extradition bill. They escalated into sometimes violent displays of dissent against police behaviour, amid calls for democracy and anger over Beijing’s encroachment. Demonstrators demanded an independent probe into police conduct, amnesty for those arrested and a halt to the characterisation of protests as “riots.”
Lai had believed that Chan could reach out to valiant protesters on messaging app Telegram and see if a dialogue could be arranged, the court heard. The Apple Daily founder believed someone was leading the radical protesters, Chan said.
The paralegal did not succeed in finding the protesters from the valiant camp, however, as he was unable to identify whether they were indeed part of that group, he said. Those who were members of the valiant camp would not admit their identity, Chan added.
Monday’s hearing marked day 60 of Lai’s 80-day trial. The prosecution grilled Chan about the finances of a third campaign to place advertisements in newspapers across the globe in August 2019, which aimed to protest against the extradition bill, advocate protesters’ five demands, and draw international attention to alleged police brutality during the unrest.
The court heard from the paralegal that Lai’s aide Simon suggested Chan organise exhibitions to showcase the results of the advertisement campaigns.
Chan said he had paid around HK$30,000 in advance for the exhibitions, and Simon paid him back later.
Following the third newspaper advertisement campaign, Chan and another activist Andy Li, who completed his testimony for the prosecution last week, discussed whether they should continue with such campaigns. Li wondered whether more effort should be put on international lobbying work, but the two did not reach a conclusion, Chan said.
Chan will return to the witness stand on Tuesday.
When Lai’s trial began on December 18, 2023, he had already spent more than 1,000 days in custody after having had his bail revoked in December 2020. Three judges – handpicked by Hong Kong’s chief executive to hear national security cases – are presiding over Lai’s trial in the place of a jury, marking a departure from the city’s common law traditions.
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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