1 week Ago By Kelly Ho
Jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai has testified in his landmark trial that it had been a mistake for his former social media manager to retweet an activist’s call for the UK to sanction Hong Kong officials from Lai’s account. The 77-year-old tycoon denied in court on Friday that he was trying to call for sanctions on Hong Kong over the enactment of the national security law by sharing a tweet from activist Benedict Rogers on July 30, 2020. Rogers’ tweet, posted around a month after the security law took effect, tagged then-UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab’s account.
The activist, who cofounded UK-based group Hong Kong Watch, said it was time to add then-Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam and other local and Chinese officials to the “Magnitsky sanctions list.” Britain’s Global Human Rights regime allows the UK government to sanction both officials and non-state individuals and organisations involved in serious violations of human rights around the world. It marked the UK’s departure from the EU’s sanctions system.
The “Magnitsky-style” sanctions can involve the freezing of assets owned or controlled by an offending party. They also make it a criminal offence for companies to engage in business dealings or make funds available to sanctioned bodies. On Friday, Lai told a three-judge panel – presiding over his case rather than a jury – that Simon Lee, an ex-columnist for Apple Daily, had handled all retweets on his account, because he did not know how to use that function.
The defence had tried to argue in previous hearings that Lai’s tweets were drafted and edited by Lee, who would also on occasion post tweets on Lai’s account without the mogul’s prior approval. The court heard during Lai’s testimony, which began on November 20, that Lee had concerns about managing Lai’s Twitter account following the enactment of the security legislation. The ex-columnist was said to have left Hong Kong for the US on July 9, 2020, but agreed to help with Lai’s Twitter until a replacement could be found.
Lai’s Twitter account was later shut down in December 2020 as part of his bail conditions. The mogul said on Friday that he did not take notice of Rogers’ tweet at the time and he only became aware of the retweet on in court. But he admitted that a retweet would mean they were “in agreement” with the original post.
“I did not know about this at the time...
it does not excuse me from taking responsibility for it,” Lai said. He went on to say explain by “responsibility,” he meant he had to be accountable for Lee’s “negligence” and “mistakes.” “I think here is a mistake,” Lai said, referring to the sharing of Rogers’ tweet on his account.
Lai is on trial for two counts of taking part in a “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under the security legislation, and also for conspiring to publish “seditious” materials under a colonial-era law . He faces spending the rest of his life in prison if convicted. The self-made millionaire’s media outlet, which was forced to close in June 2021 after senior staff were arrested, faces the same charges.
Apple Daily’s newsroom was raided twice, and its assets were frozen. Lai has been detained since December 2020 and is currently serving a prison term of five years and nine months for a separate fraud case linked to lease violations at the newspaper’s headquarters. During Friday’s hearing, Lai’s barrister Steven Kwan made reference to some episodes from a livestreamed programme, in which Lai discussed Hong Kong with some academics.
Most of the scholars were from the US and Republican-leaning, Lai told the court. In an episode aired on July 30, 2020, Lai said China’s military was “much inferior” compared to the US military, and thus China was “not ready for war.” He also alleged that the Chinese army was “so corrupted” that they would not be able to fight against the US.
In another part of the programme, Lai stated that the national security law had “kicked off a unity of the international free world countries opposing China.” Lai was repeatedly asked by Kwan if his remarks carried an intent to incite hatred against the Hong Kong and Chinese government, or openly call for hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. The mogul denied having such intent.
“I was analysing the situation or the military of the two countries. I was relating to a fact. How could I say it in another way?” Lai asked.
Friday marked day 109 of the closely-watched trial. The defence indicated that they will question Lai next Monday about the retweets on his account that involved links about the US Treasury’s announcement of sanctioning high-ranking officials including Lam. 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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