Lawyers for a former newspaper publisher and two activists have called for less than 10 years’ imprisonment for their roles in attempts to instigate sanctions against Hong Kong and mainland China, saying they deserve additional reductions in securing Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s conviction in his national security trial.
Arguments over appropriate sentences for the former media boss and eight other defendants began on Monday at West Kowloon Court. Aside from Lai, the rest pleaded guilty before his conviction for conspiring to collude with foreign forces.
Apple Daily publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, managing editor Fung Wai-kong and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee admitted using the now-defunct tabloid-style newspaper to instigate hatred against authorities and attract international sanctions before its closure in June 2021.
Wayland Chan Tsz-wah and Andy Li Yu-hin, core members of the “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” (SWHK) lobbying group, pleaded guilty to spreading propaganda and influencing foreign policy on China to trigger hostile actions from foreign governments.
Lucas Lau Cheuk-yin, Cheung’s counsel, highlighted his client’s donations to charitable causes, saying he had given more than HK$5 million (US$641,300) to the Apple Daily Charitable Foundation for the benefit of cancer patients and underprivileged children.
Lau urged the court to reduce Cheung’s jail sentence to less than five years, arguing that his offence was less serious than what prosecutors alleged.
The publisher, a prosecution witness in his former boss’s trial, had sought to reduce the harm caused by his actions, such as by removing offensive articles from Apple Daily’s online platforms, the lawyer said.
