An international lobbying campaign said to have been supported by media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying engaged British politicians to observe a Hong Kong election and asked the city’s last governor Chris Patten to express “concerns” about the Beijing-imposed 2020 national security law, a court heard on Friday.
Andy Li Yu-hin, a detained activist, said a lobbying group led by UK-based Hong Kong campaigner Finn Lau Cho-dik paid more than £75,000 to two British consultancy firms to help develop a network of UK parliamentarians and organise rallies and other events to drum up support for Hong Kong’s democracy.
West Kowloon Court heard the London-based Whitehouse Consultancy, one of the firms engaged by Lau’s team, arranged for British MPs to examine Hong Kong’s district council election in November 2019, which was held amid anti-government protests.
Li said the lobbying group had also worked with Benedict Rogers, the co-founder of pressure group Hong Kong Watch, and got in touch with Patten, who backed a joint statement in May 2020 that condemned Beijing for its “flagrant breach” of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration with its proposed national security legislation for Hong Kong.
Lai, 76, faces two conspiracy charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-decreed national security law, and a third count of conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications under colonial-era legislation.
Li, the most prominent figure among 12 Hongkongers arrested by mainland Chinese authorities in 2020, agreed to testify for the prosecution after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces three years ago.
The IT programmer turned activist explained the workings behind an effort to urge Britain to take action against the Hong Kong government in July 2019 after a first campaign to woo world leaders at the Group of 20 summit a month earlier was “rather successful”.
Li said an anonymous participant in the first campaign introduced him to Lau, who used the alias “Mutual Destruction Bro” on the popular LIHKG forum.
He added he was at first invited to use his bank account to receive donations in Britain before the group turned to Jack Henry Hazlewood, an Apple Daily contributor, for help to fulfil the crowdfunding platform’s administrative requirements.
The court heard the campaign crowdfunded more than £308,000 and spent in excess of £96,000 to draw attention to mainland China’s alleged breach of the Joint Declaration, which required the city to retain a high degree of autonomy until 2047.
Apple Daily allowed the lobbying group to use a copyright image showing a handshake between former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and a Chinese official for promotional purposes.
Li said the move was made possible after Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, who connected Li to an anonymous financier in the first campaign, had a meal with Lai, the founder of the now-closed tabloid.
“So at least from that incident onwards, I realised [Chan] could share a table with Mr Lai,” he added.
But he said he was still unsure at the time of the true identity of his financial backers.
Li earlier told the court he had sourced a total of HK$6.73 million (US$860,370) through crowdfunding in June 2019 to support the publication of political adverts in 13 countries and on social media.
He said a surplus of HK$160,000 was donated to the now-closed 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. He added it had been “completely legal” for the group to provide financial help to protesters who faced legal proceedings.
Anthony Chau Tin-hang, for the prosecution, argued the fund’s purpose was to “support the protests during the 2019 anti-[extradition law amendment bill] movement”, but that portrayal was challenged by the other side of the bar table who found it “inaccurate”.
The trial continues on Monday.