Hong Kong activist collaborated with 3 overseas individuals to have Japanese sanctions imposed on city and China, Jimmy Lai trial told
- Lobbyist Andy Li says he worked with Japanese legislator, a political activist, and a financier, both based in Britain, to promote sanctions by country’s Diet
- Li tells court he and other activists helped set up communication between Japanese politician and the London financier to help sanctions bid
The British activist said Browder, who he described as a “dynamo” with “a huge amount of money”, was excited about Kanno’s work and was keen to help.
Li, who appeared as a prosecution witness, said he and other Japan-based activists had assisted communication between Kanno and Browder and considered when and how the bill could best be put to the Diet.
Kanno, de Pulford and Browder were among four non-Chinese individuals named as co-conspirators in the indictment.
The court heard IPAC, which prosecutors said was a coalition of overseas lawmakers critical of China, discussed the appropriate responses to the Beijing national security law days after it took effect in June 2020.
Activist lobbied foreign politicians to sever Hong Kong treaties, Lai trial told
One of the alliance’s goals, according to the meeting’s minutes, was to steer foreign governments into pledging “no one shall be extradited to Hong Kong or China regardless of nationality”, as well as reviewing or repealing existing extradition legislation in member states.
Anthony Chau Tin-hang, for the prosecution, sought to establish the cause-and-effect relationship between the IPAC meeting and later actions taken by overseas administrations to suspend legal agreements with Hong Kong.
‘UK politician asked Jimmy Lai to cover pushback against Hong Kong security law’
Chau asked Li to explain his text conversations with “T”, a middleman who connected the activist to Lai, later identified as Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, a paralegal.
Chan asked Li whether he had “got everything in Hong Kong settled” before the “fight” – a reference to the latter’s lobbying efforts.
Li said that was not a problem and implied the city’s authorities could arrest him and detain his family members for questioning regardless of any actions he took.
“Everyone on Hong Kong’s side, including T, might be grilled [by authorities because of me],” he told the court.
“So at least I took care of my family members, meaning they didn’t have to worry, as the grilling would come anyway if that was how things turned out.”
The trial continues on Tuesday.