Advocacy group allegedly backed by Jimmy Lai submitted draft proposal to Japanese lawmakers for sanctions against Hong Kong, court hears
West Kowloon Court heard Li included two versions of the draft bill in an email to Takai and his wife, one targeting alleged human rights abuses in Hong Kong and the other addressing such concerns in the world in general.
The documents were also reportedly forwarded to Shiori Kanno, then House of Representatives member who was alleged to be a co-conspirator in Lai’s case.
Li said he had not read the documents as his goal was simply to introduce Takai to the volunteer, identified in court by her Chinese name Zhang Yicheng, who was reportedly well-versed in the law.
“[We] hoped the lawmakers would adopt this draft bill and submit it [to the lower house of the National Diet for discussion] if they thought it was OK,” the activist told the court.
The activist also visited Japan in December 2019 to meet Satoshi Inoue and Taku Yamazoe, both House of Councillors members from the Japanese Communist Party, where he showed the pair a haul of spent ammunition he said was used by Hong Kong police to crack down on protesters.
Advocacy group allegedly backed by Hong Kong’s Lai prepared sanctions list: witness
The meeting was held at the recommendation of three groups of Japan-based Hongkongers who had organised rallies in support of the city, as their members were unwilling to commit themselves to political activism, the witness added.
Court told Jimmy Lai-backed group called for action against Hong Kong and Beijing
The meeting was also joined by veteran democrat Martin Lee Chu-ming, former chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang and then lawmakers Dennis Kwok Wing-hang and Charles Mok.
Li was invited to a further meeting with Chan in early 2020 alongside paralegal Wayland Chan Tsz-wah, who allegedly acted as a point of contact between the activist and Lai.
“So Anson Chan asked, since there had already been a lot of protests and related actions, if there was an end-game [to the movement], how we hoped it would end or how we wanted to reach it,” Li said.
But he added he and Wayland Chan were unable to provide any concrete answer and the meeting ended without a conclusion.
The trial continues on Monday.