T he trial of Andy Li Yu-hin and Chan Tsz-wah, for colluding with foreign forces in a conspiracy to endanger national security, has offered unique insights into the subversive acts of the anti-China movement in Hong Kong.
Both men played an active part in a separate case in which 12 people attempted to flee the city by speedboat last August but were intercepted by the Guangdong Coast Guard for illegal crossing. What is most intriguing about the collusion case is not that they both pleaded guilty under the National Security Law for Hong Kong. That was expected. Rather, it was the revelation they provided to prosecutors about the critical role that tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and his executive assistant, Mark Simon, played in funding and running subversive groups and people deeply involved in the 2019 anti-China riots and colluding with foreign agents and government officials.
Lai is now in prison for separate offenses and awaiting trial under the NSL and for fraud. Simon, an American with an extensive background in military intelligence, fled the city long ago. With the new evidence, more national security charges are likely to be brought against Lai. There is, perhaps, no one more deserving of the wrath of the NSL in Hong Kong than Lai, who has extended his subversive and corrupt influence into major sectors of the local economy and society. This has involved allegedly masterminding and funding so-called pro-democracy parties in and outside of the local legislature, anti-China and anti-government groups, various protest and professional organizations and the news media, most notably the now-defunct Next Magazine and Apple Daily. All such groups played a key role in the unprecedented violent protests and riots of 2019; many were also involved in spreading propaganda against Hong Kong and the rest of China, and colluding with foreign politicians, activists and governments, especially in the United States and Britain.
It is truly terrifying that one man could have exercised so much malign influence and caused so much damage to such a modern and advanced society as Hong Kong by exploiting loopholes in the law. Fortunately, the NSL has now closed many of those weak spots. Enacting legislation according to Article 23 of the Basic Law will complete the task of protecting national security against foreign interference and local subversion in Hong Kong.
The court heard that Lai and Simon directly funded the group called “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” (SWHK) — which was co-founded by Li in August 2019 to seek foreign intervention in local affairs — with at least HK$13.7 million (US$1.76 million). Their conspiratorial program aimed to draw international sanctions against the central and Hong Kong governments, force the local government to concede to protesters’ political demands during the 2019 riots, and topple the Communist Party of China. Through all this, Chan, a paralegal, acted as an agent for Lai and Simon, who were alleged to be the real financial backers and de facto leaders of the group. SWHK continued to operate after the NSL took effect on June 30 last year.
The plot was not only well-funded, but also highly organized and well-executed. According to the prosecution, Lai spelled out four stages for international lobbying against Hong Kong and Beijing. These involved spreading misinformation about Hong Kong; appealing to the international community, mostly Western governments, for help and intervention; and meeting foreign government officials, consultants and political advisers, connecting them to local activists, and getting them to set policies that are inimical to China — with the ultimate aim of causing administrative and economic turmoil in China.
In addition to direct funding from Lai and Simon, SWHK also launched four crowdfunding campaigns in 2019 and 2020, which together raised about HK$37.6 million. The court heard that the funds were used to publish anti-China and anti-Hong Kong propaganda, organize protests, hire consultants and public relations firms for overseas political lobbying, and sponsor a British politician’s trip to Hong Kong to “observe” protests.
Lai was the majority shareholder of the now-defunct Apple Daily; the paper was ordered to cover SWHK’s political activities and protests extensively and to allow the group to use its copyrighted photos for propaganda purposes.
With help from Lai and Simon, Li was able to form a political network with foreign politicians in the US, Britain and Japan, such as US Republican Senator Rick Scott. A long list of 144 mainland and Hong Kong officials was provided to several US senators, including Scott, with the aim of encouraging US sanctions.
Li also admitted to engaging British politician Luke de Pulford and a group of Japanese lawmakers to persuade other countries to end extradition arrangements and other forms of mutual legal assistance with Hong Kong. The US and nine allied countries subsequently terminated such arrangements with Hong Kong.
Li’s group also pushed for the enactment of a Magnitsky-style sanctions law in Japan, with the specific aim of targeting Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
Individually, all those subversive actions and foreign government interventions are long known to the Hong Kong public. But what the trial offered was clear evidence that exposed their connections and how one man and his American assistant had their fingerprints all over them.
The author is a veteran journalist focusing on Hong Kong and Chinese mainland affairs.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.