Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai says report that he spoke of sanctions with Pompeo accurate

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying resumes his testimony on Wednesday as the court continues to examine evidence regarding his national security charges for the fifth day at West Kowloon Court.

Lai, 76, had denied two charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the 2020 national security law, as well as a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications in breach of colonial-era legislation.

The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid previously denied prosecutors’ allegations that he had attempted to influence foreign policies on Hong Kong or mainland China through his relationships with politicians and activists in the United States, Britain and Taiwan.

He also denied allegations that he had pressured former top aides at the newspaper to create a sanctions list for Washington after the national security law was implemented in Hong Kong.

On Monday, the fourth day of Lai’s oral testimony, his lawyers turned their attention to Apple Daily’s online English-language edition.

He said he wanted the newspaper to attract overseas readers by publishing “negative” articles in English about the mainland, but denied he had intended to trigger Western sanctions.

He added that he felt a newspaper’s credibility was not built upon balanced coverage, but on reporting what it perceived to be the truth.