previous
Next
Eunice Lamb
Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chi-ying’s opinions dominated Apple Daily’s reporting, encouraging people to take to the streets to demonstrate and denigrate police actions, the paper said in its original statement. Deputy Publisher Zhang Puiman testified.
Mr Chan, 53, a co-accused witness for the prosecution, told the West Kowloon Magistrates Court yesterday that Mr Lai, 76, had been arrested in August 2020, but had not yet given editorial policy to the daily’s management. He said he never instructed him to make any changes.
However, she added that Mr Lai has not held any “lunchbox meetings” since his arrest.
Prosecutors pointed to an Apple Daily article about an interview with Lai on August 13, 2020, three days after he was arrested and later released on police bail.
In the article, Lai recalled his time in jail and said, “Even if I had to go to prison, I would still choose to follow the same path.”
Mr. Chan said he would follow Mr. Lai’s instructions, noting that Mr. Lai was “basically the boss and the work style he adopted was relatively strong.” He insisted his approach to things was the right way, adding that he had instructed his colleagues to cover the news they considered important “with maximum effect.”
Chan said that although they share the same values as Lai, such as fighting for democracy and freedom, they may not necessarily agree on specific implementation methods.
She gave the example of the “One Person, One Letter” campaign, where her disagreements were rejected by Mr. Lai, and she gradually followed his instructions to publish a letter template on the A1 front page of the newspaper. .
The court previously found that Lai supported then-President Donald Trump’s re-election bid and had instructed colleagues in the international news division not to follow the anti-Trump reporting line of the New York Times and CNN. The court heard that.
Chan said Lai criticized colleagues in the paper’s international news department for not doing enough to cover the scandal allegations against another presidential candidate, Joe Biden, and his family.
She added that she read the relevant news reports and understood the situation from the subsequent international news sections, many of which were published by US tabloids and social media, so her team could not believe the authenticity of the scandal regarding current US President Biden. He added that he was concerned.
She once told Zhang Jinxing, Apple Daily’s publisher at the time, that her colleagues in the international news department were feeling stressed and would adjust the proportion of Trump news at Lai’s request. he said.
However, she felt that the paper’s reporting was still in line with journalistic principles.
Prosecutors also showed Apple Daily’s front page article from September 1, 2019, the day after the police raid at Prince Edward MTR Station on August 31, 2019.
Chan said the article’s angle calls into question whether police used excessive force when dealing with protesters, which was related to Lai’s focus.
But national security judge Alex Lee Wantan said he did not question the article’s title and content, which “said excessive force was used by the police,” and Chan agreed.
The defense is scheduled to begin cross-examining Chan today.