Chan Pui-man, a former associate publisher of Apple Daily, was testifying against the media tycoon as an accomplice witness on the 25th day of the national security trial. She had earlier pleaded guilty to conspiring to collude with foreign forces.
Prosecutors on Wednesday presented records of Lai’s messaging exchanges with the paper’s senior management after protesters broke into the Legco building on July 1, 2019, amid the months-long anti-government demonstrations.
Hundreds of people forced their way into the building that day after a massive march against the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which would have allowed authorities to send individuals to mainland China for trial.
WhatsApp messages presented in court showed Lai telling colleagues that scenes of young people charging into the Legco “weighed heavily” on his heart and it was a relief that residents were “more or less understanding” of their actions.
Chan texted Lai that the paper already carried a lot of coverage on the “thoughts of the young people” involved in the storming, and pledged to him that they would “do more”.
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Chan said the Legco riot was “big news” and that Apple Daily’s reporters covered the incident even before Lai said anything. “But after he said so, it felt like we had to cover it with intent,” she added.
“We had to cover it in a way that residents would continue to support this movement.”
Mr Justice Alex Lee Wan-tang asked: “Do you mean that Mr Lai had a purpose in mind, and wanted the news coverage to be conducted in a certain perspective so as to achieve his purpose?”
“Yes,” Chan replied.
She added that Lai was worried storming of the Legco complex could be seen as controversial and result in the movement losing support from residents.
The paper’s management then elevated related stories to a “prominent position” in the newspaper in response to Lai’s instruction, Chan said.
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“Our work in the next few days will be to enlarge and proliferate these sentiments, have it pervade and become the consensus among residents,” Lai told Chan via WhatsApp.
The court on Wednesday heard that Apple Daily subsequently ran stories including an interview with a young father, headlined “‘Martyr’ who stayed behind in Legco”, and separately, a report that said protesters left banknotes in a fridge after taking beverages from the building.
The media tycoon is standing trial at West Kowloon Court on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and inciting public hatred in the wake of the 2019 protest.
