Police officers patrols outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on Dec 18, the first day of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s trial. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

Former Apple Daily publisher Cheung Kim-hung testified in court on Wednesday that Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily, had instructed the newspaper to seek support from Western countries during the 2019 social unrest, with the aim of turning the tabloid into a platform to confront the central and local authorities.

Cheung, who is also the former CEO of Next Digital, Apple Daily’s parent company, became the first accomplice-turned-prosecution-witness to testify in Lai’s high-profile national security and sedition trial.

Cheung acknowledged that the newspaper’s editorial policies changed in 2019 during the anti-extradition bill protests, as Lai sought to use the publication to encourage people to take to the streets and exert pressure on the special administrative region government.

Cheung said that Lai also sought to draw the attention of Western countries to Hong Kong and prompt them to take action against the central and SAR governments, including imposing sanctions on officials.

Cheung said that Lai’s involvement in Apple Daily’s operation can be traced back to the social movement of 2014, when Lai became actively involved in the editorial and reporting policies of the newspaper. From this point on, the newspaper’s stance became increasingly anti-government and confrontational toward the central authorities.

Cheung said that Lai also sought to draw the attention of Western countries to Hong Kong and prompt them to take action against the central and SAR governments, including imposing sanctions on officials

In 2014, Lai indicated that he intended to use the newspaper as a tool to urge residents to “fight for democracy” and to launch protests, Cheung said.

As the publisher, Cheung said his role had been to oversee the operation of the publication and ensure that the publishing and editorial policies aligned with Lai’s requirements.

According to Cheung, during Apple Daily’s editorial meetings every Tuesday, the management would convey Lai’s editorial instructions and stance to all department heads.

Additionally, every Thursday, Lai would personally issue instructions and share his opinions at a weekly lunch meeting attended by leaders from different publications.

Cheung also revealed that Lai would set the tone for the tabloid’s editorials and handpicked preferred writers, including a critic of the central government and the SAR government who goes by the pen name Fangyuan.

Cheung’s decadeslong career with Lai began in 1991 when he joined Next Magazine as a business editor. He was appointed editor-in-chief in 1994 and subsequently held positions working on various publications founded by Lai, including editor-in-chief of Apple Daily in April 2011. Apple Daily was founded in 1995 and announced its closure in June 2021.

Cheung, who was arrested in June 2021, pleaded guilty in November 2022 to colluding with external elements to endanger national security, along with five other former Apple Daily executives.

The trial of former media tycoon Lai began on Dec 18 and is expected to last about 80 days.

Lai is facing one count of conspiracy to print, publish, sell, offer for sale, distribute, display or reproduce seditious publications, and two counts of conspiracy to collude with external forces to endanger national security. The sedition charge and one of the collusion charges were also brought against three Apple Daily-related companies. Another collusion charge against Lai has been left on court file at the prosecution’s request.