Apple Daily newspaper staff admit foreign collusion over Hong Kong protests

Six former employees of a pro-democracy newspaper have pleaded guilty to colluding with foreign forces amid mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai outside his company's headquarters. Picture: AFP

Six former employees of a pro-democracy newspaper have pleaded guilty to colluding with foreign forces amid mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019.

The conviction of the five men and one woman, including Cheung Kim-hung, the former publisher of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, and its associate publisher, Chan Pui-man, came days before the trial of the newspaper’s founder, Jimmy Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At least three of those who pleaded guilty are expected to help in the prosecution’s case against Mr Lai, whose trial is scheduled to start next Thursday.

Under the national security law in Hong Kong the crime is punishable by up to life in prison, but after their guilty pleas the six are likely to face shorter jail sentences of three to 10 years. A separate charge of sedition under the territory’s colonial-era law was also dropped on condition of their guilty pleas, according to the South China Morning Post.

The case marked the first conviction of media directors under the law, which is designed to end civil unrest and quash dissent. It has led to the arrests of more than 230 people since its enactment in June 2020.

By the end of last month more than 30 people had been convicted, including the activist Tong Ying-kit, who was the first to be found guilty under the law for ramming a motorcycle into police and flying a protest flag. Tong was jailed for nine years, the harshest penalty so far.

However, the most high-profile of the defendants will be Mr Lai, 74, the publishing tycoon known for his anti-Beijing stance, and a group of pro-democracy politicians and activists accused of organising and participating in an illegal primary election.

Mr Lai is accused of colluding with foreign forces to draw sanctions against officials in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. In August 2020 the United States announced sanctions against seven Hong Kong and four mainland officials for undermining the territory’s autonomy and curtailing freedoms there.

Carrie Lam, who was the territory’s chief executive, was sanctioned along with John Lee, who was later chosen by Beijing to succeed her.

In the case against Mr Lai’s colleagues, the prosecution said he had expressed his political views through the publication. It claimed that Apple Daily had published numerous articles since March 2019 that were seditious in nature and intended to stir up public discontent against Beijing and the Hong Kong government, as well as inciting protests.

The newspaper had also criticised the national security law as “evil” and it continued to urge foreign governments to sanction officials after the law came into effect, according to the prosecution.

Separately, Hong Kong police have started an investigation into how Glory to Hong Kong, the protest song, was played instead of China’s national anthem at a recent rugby match in South Korea. Police interviewed members of the Hong Kong Rugby Union on Monday and seized communications, the South China Morning Post reported.

Asia Rugby, the sport’s governing body, had earlier apologised for the error, taking responsibility for failing to provide the correct recording of the anthem to the South Korean organisers.

The Times