A recent exclusive report published by the Sing Tao Daily reported that Jimmy Lai’s legal team’s application for overseas witnesses to testify by video link had been denied. However, this proved to be fake news as the trial judge clarified, at the start of the trial on Dec.18, that she had not received any such request.
The trial of Next Media founder Jimmy Lai which includes charges of “conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces” and incitement, began on Dec. 18. On the same day, Justice Esther Toh lye-ping, the designated judge under the Hong Kong National Security Law (NSL), said that there were media reports claiming the defense was applying for testimony by overseas witnesses, and the application was rejected. But she clarified that she had not received any such request from the defense.
The defense also confirmed that it had not made any such application for overseas witnesses to testify. This report was, however, circulated among local pro-communist media before the trial started. Commentators analyzed that the news was fabricated to provoke Beijing to deal harshly with Jimmy Lai.
Fact-checking reveals the chronology of the alleged event as follows. It originated on page A10 of the “Sing Tao Daily” on Dec. 15, titled, “Sing Tao Exclusive: Jimmy Lai’s case starting on December 18th. Lai’s application for video testimony of overseas witnesses rejected.” The report mentioned that Sing Tao Daily “learned exclusively” that Jimmy Lai, through his lawyer, “requested to employ live TV links” to provide video testimony by overseas witnesses. However, this application had been rejected in writing by the court. It also mentioned that at least six key witnesses in the case, including Cheung Kim-hung, former chief editor of Apple Daily, and Andy Li Yu-hin, a member of “Hong Kong Story,” will appear in court to testify (for the prosecution).
However, the report did not mention whether it had sought confirmation from the Judiciary or other relevant parties. In addition, the newspaper also did not follow the usual practice when quoting news and reporting, which is to include confirmation from at least two independent sources.
The same piece of news was also reported by the “ETNet,” a subsidiary of the “Economic Times” at about 10 o’clock on the morning of the same day, citing the report from “Sing Tao Daily” in the form of an “Exclusive News.”
Oriental Daily also reported the news at 10 a.m. on Dec. 15, saying that “according to someone,” Lai made the request through a lawyer, but was rejected in writing by the court.
Party Media Allege the Internationalization of NSL Cases
Local CCP-affiliated media “Dot Dot News” published a commentary titled “Lai Chee-ying’s Litigation Tricks” on Dec. 15 afternoon, saying that Lai “applied to the court to submit overseas exculpatory evidence, including foreign government exoneration statements, etc.,” an attempt to “internationalize the judicial process, allowing the international community to continue to pay attention and tries to influence the Hong Kong courts.”Sing Tao Daily Deletes Its ‘Exclusive News’
The online version of “Sing Tao Daily,” which was the first to report the news, deleted the “exclusive news” after the court’s clarification on Dec. 18, and the title has been changed to “The trial of Jimmy Lai’s case begins on December 18. Many legal disputes on the first day of trial.” However, the news is still retained in Google’s cached archive. However, other media that mentioned the report still retain relevant articles as of noon on Dec. 20.Commentary: Intended to Agitate Beijing to Deal More Harshly on Jimmy Lai
Senior media person Shi Shan analyzed that this “made-up” incident was caused by someone advocating the ancient Chinese doctrine of “creating the bandit to gain trust from above.“There are some people in Hong Kong who want Jimmy Lai’s head, so they use the media to spread the so-called ‘exclusive news’ to get the attention of foreign media to raise their concern, and then use such ‘foreign interference’ claims as an excuse to provoke Beijing to deal more harshly on Jimmy Lai.”
Shi Shan gave one notable past example. “Similar incidents have occurred in Hong Kong before. The most well-known one is that after Leung Chun-ying, who was suspected to be an underground member of the CCP, came to power as chief executive in 2012, he declared the emergence of “Hong Kong independence” as an attempt to create chaos to win Beijing’s trust and to serve for his political gain. “
In July 2012, Mr. Leung took office as the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. On Oct. 24, Chen Zuo’er, former deputy director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office, declared in an exchange with mainland netizens on the official People’s Daily Online that “Hong Kong independence forces have been on the rise in recent years and are spreading like a virus,” suddenly heating up the so-called “Hong Kong independence” issue.
On Dec. 26, 2013, four members of “Hongkongers Priority” held a colonial-era Hong Kong flag and opposed the Hong Kong government’s plan to designate part of the Central waterfront as military land. They broke into the headquarters of the CCP’s Hong Kong Garrison in Tamar and were arrested. The CCP’s Global Times reported the incident titled “Hong Kong arrests’ Hong Kong independence’ elements who broke into a military camp,” claiming that many Hong Kong people believed that the storming of the military camp by “Hong Kong independence” elements was an attempt to challenge the country’s sovereign rights.
Later, in 2014, Dickson Cheung Hon-yin, one of the founders of “Hongkongers Priority,” was exposed as performing a “special mission” for the CCP by pretending to be a Falun Gong practitioner. However, the news about “breaking into the military camp” by the “Hong Kong Independence” group had achieved its propaganda purpose.
In January 2015, Mr. Leung publicly criticized for the first time in his Policy Address the idea of “self-reliance and self-determination” that was still being discussed among students at the time, linking the discussion to “Hong Kong independence.”
The very next day, the “Global Times” editorial praised Mr. Leung for being “the first who dared to criticize “Hong Kong’s talk of self-reliance and self-determination.”
Lai Chak-fun, a current affairs commentator at the time, analyzed that “Hong Kong independence” was actually a “phantom adversary” hyped up by Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, the Liaison Office of the CCP. The purpose was to create chaos in Hong Kong to achieve Leung’s re-election aspiration.
Mr. Shi believes that this type of “fake news fabrication” is quite typical within the CCP system and party culture to “hijack” the upper echelon in Beijing.
Mr. Lai, together with Apple Daily Co., Ltd., Apple Daily Printing Ltd., and Apple Daily Internet Co., Ltd., were charged with one count of “conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, sell, and solicit to sell, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications. And together with senior executives of Apple Daily, charged with one count of “conspiracy to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security.” Mr. Lai was charged, on his own, with one more count of “conspiring to collude with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security” and “collusion with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security.” The case is being heard by three NSL-designated judges, Justice Esther Toh lye-ping, Justice D’almada Remedios, and Justice Lee Wan-tang.
