Advertisement
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai gave HK$1.5 million to back worldwide ad campaign to pressure city government during 2019 unrest, court told
- Paralegal Wayland Chan explains his links to Lai, his right-hand man Mark Simon and activist Andy Li at West Kowloon Court
- Prosecutors allege Li was given instructions by Lai through Chan designed to try and trigger international sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying made advance payments of HK$1.5 million (US$191,494) to help pay for a 2019 global advertising campaign designed to put pressure on the city’s government as he felt the plan was “fully in line with” his political stance, a court has heard.
Advertisement
Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, a paralegal, on Friday explained to West Kowloon Court his links to Lai, his right-hand man Mark Simon, and activist Andy Li Yu-hin, the most prominent of the 12 Hongkongers arrested by mainland authorities in August 2020.
Prosecutors alleged 76-year-old Lai had given instructions to Li through Chan on various occasions which were designed to trigger international sanctions and other hostile acts by the West against Hong Kong and mainland China in the wake of the 2019 anti-government protests.
The mogul has denied two conspiracy counts of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications under colonial-era legislation.
Chan, who turned prosecution witness after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in 2021, said he tried to contact Lai in June 2019 when a group of anonymous activists needed a bridging loan to pay for newspaper adverts during that year’s Group of 20 (G20) summit in Japan.
Advertisement
Advertisement