'Apple Daily's stance on protests problematic'

The national security trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai on Tuesday heard a former publisher of the shuttered outlet found the newspaper's stance on violence and protests to be problematic. Continuing cross-examination by the defence, senior counsel Robert Pang said the newspaper had been “calling for peaceful protests”, presenting Apple Daily articles on processions in 2019 that had received a letter of no objection from the police. But ex-publisher Cheung Kim-hung, testifying as an accomplice witness, said Apple Daily's reporting became more supportive of the protesters as the unrest escalated. “I personally thought it was problematic. But in this position, as the publisher of Apple Daily, I had to implement Lai’s [editorial] policy,” he told the court. The court also heard staff were relayed a message from their boss, when he was behind bars, telling them to take care and be cautious. Presenting an audio clip of a staff meeting in May 2021, the defence asked Cheung if Lai meant to tell his staff to “steer clear of any acts that would breach the law”. “I dare not interpret [the message] myself. But he’d reminded colleagues to be careful given the circumstances,” Cheung said. The ex-publisher added that he told staff in the same snippet that Apple Daily “was not a criminal organisation”, and that Next Digital “had always strived to do its best” to ensure the outlet abide by the law. On the newspaper's English edition launched in 2020, the defence lawyer suggested it was meant to provide “an alternative view” from the South China Morning Post to foreign readers, but Cheung disagreed. The court was told a campaign to write to then-US President Donald Trump was intended to encourage him to confront Beijing, with the ex-publisher dismissing the defence’s suggestion that international pressure could be applied in many ways such as a simple phone call between world leaders. “This was not what Lai thought at the time,” Cheung said. “Lai all along believed Trump had the guts to go against Beijing. He has always praised Trump’s unilateralism for daring to start a trade war with China, forcing it to follow the values of the West.” Cheung is among six former staff who admitted to conspiracy to commit collusion. The Apple Daily founder has denied three conspiracy charges relating to collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The trial continues on Wednesday.