Jimmy Lai admits to suggesting to Pompeo to sanction officials from mainland China and HK
Jimmy Lai, the founder of Next Digital and associated with three companies related to Apple Daily, is facing charges of conspiring with foreign forces to endanger national security. Today (Nov. 27) marks the 97th day of the trial.
During the trial, Lai admitted that he had met with then-US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, where he suggested that the US could sanction officials from mainland China and Hong Kong.
When asked about his meetings with then-US Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Pompeo, Lai mentioned that his assistant Mark Simon was present during the meeting, but only he and Pompeo were present during their meeting, with Simon waiting outside.
In a 2019 article published by Apple Daily, it was reported that during a webcast program, Lai mentioned that Pompeo had asked him what the US could do, to which Lai responded that the US could sanction officials in mainland China and Hong Kong who were involved in suppressing the protests. This time, Lai confirmed that he did have this conversation with Pompeo, suggesting US sanctions on officials from mainland China and Hong Kong.
The defense cited testimonies from Cheung Kim-hung and Chan Pui-man, stating that approval from Lai was necessary when selecting editorial writers. They presented WhatsApp records of discussions between them and Lai regarding editorial writers.
During the trial, Lai argued that Cheung only informed him about the selection of editorial writers and clarified that he never demanded specific writers for the editorials. However, after a break in the trial, the defense immediately informed the court that Lai wanted to "correct," admitting that he had recommended Yan Chungou as an editorial writer, contrary to his previous statement that he never recommended editorial writers.
"'I never recommend editorial writer,' maybe I was wrong."
These testimonies and clarifications will be considered during the trial to determine the case's outcome.
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