‘How could I know’: Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai on ‘dangerous’ Apple Daily op-eds
Prosecutors accuse former media boss of allowing three offensive commentaries to be published in his tabloid, court hears
Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying has denied testing the limits of the national security law by allowing the publication of “dangerous” commentaries in the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, adding he will not take responsibility for every perceived mistake his tabloid’s contributors make.
Prosecutors on Tuesday argued the 77-year-old tabloid founder knowingly endorsed the publication of three offensive op-eds in Apple Daily despite his purported warnings to staff to be “intensively cautious” against violating the national security law.
Lai was testifying for the 46th day at West Kowloon Court to contest two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces and a third of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications in his marathon trial.
The defendant’s confrontational approach to cross-examination drew the judges’ ire once again after he answered prosecutors’ questions by challenging their rationale.
In response to allegations he knew the articles were deliberately constructed to foster hatred and instigate anti-China measures from overseas governments, Lai stressed he was not involved in their publications and had no idea how the writers thought at the time.
“How could I know? How could I know? Tell me please, I’m just wondering,” he told Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang. “Because you’re so smart, I want to learn some smartness from you.”
Madam Justice Susana D’Almada Remedios, one of three High Court judges on the bench, immediately interjected.