Jimmy Lai admits to instructing Apple Daily's English edition to 'only report negative news' about China

Jimmy Lai, the anti-China Hong Kong activist and founder of Next Digital, along with three related companies linked to Apple Daily, is currently on the 96th day of trial for allegedly conspiring with foreign forces. Today (Nov. 25), Lai continued his self-defense, admitting that he instructed the English edition of Apple Daily to only report negative news about China without the need to provide balanced coverage of different perspectives to foreign readers.

He further emphasized that Apple Daily's stance aligns with the anti-China group, which is anti-central and anti-Hong Kong SAR governments.

The defense team continued to question Lai today regarding the editorial policy of the English edition of Apple Daily. They played recordings in court from the "English News" WhatsApp group, where Lai issued instructions to focus on news from the mainland opposing the government and human rights activists. Lai also instructed the team not to select writers with positive views on China, directing them to concentrate on human rights and activist news since foreigners are most interested in these topics.

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