'We followed up on Legco storming with an intention'
Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai wanted the newspaper to follow up on the storming of the Legislative Council in 2019 to help shore up public support for the protests, a former associate publisher said on Wednesday. According to messaging records shown during Lai’s national security trial, the defendant said, “The episode of young people charging into the Legislative Council weighs heavily on my heart." The messaging records also showed Chan Pui-man, former associate publisher of Apple Daily, replied, “Got it. Newspapers tomorrow will have a lot of coverage on the thoughts of the young people who stormed and occupied the Legislative Council.” Testifying as an accomplice witness, Chan noted how the newspaper covered the aftermath of the July 1 incident.  "Lai had an intention. He wanted us to follow up on this matter... He was worried that the storming of the legislature would be very controversial and discourage people from supporting the movement," she said. “Before he said anything, we actually were reporting on the matter. But afterwards, it seemed like we covered it with an agenda, which was to make people continue to support the movement.” The former associate publisher added she had attended lunch box meetings held by Lai during which he had mentioned his concerns about allegations of police brutality in 2019 and requested staff to conduct in-depth coverage. The court also heard Apple Daily printed a second edition on July 9, 2019, to include a meeting of Lai and then-US secretary of state Mike Pompeo. “Because Lai’s visit to the United States to meet Pompeo was important, so we had to print another edition,” Chan said.  She said she had not learned about the meeting in advance. The court also heard Lai’s visits to the US were aligned with his stance to have foreign countries put pressure on the SAR to meet the demands of protesters. Chan is among six senior staff of the now-defunct outlet who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit collusion.  The Apple Daily founder has denied three conspiracy charges relating to collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The trial continues on Thursday.