Prosecutors grilled Lai on Wednesday about the piece headlined “Will US sanction Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor?” published in Apple Daily on July 18, 2020, after the national security law took effect on June 30 of that year.

The author asked readers to consider past sanctions imposed on Chinese officials in charge of Xinjiang in the far west of mainland China and raised the question of whether then-city leader Cheng would face the same treatment.

Deputy Director of Prosecutions Anthony Chau Tin-hang questioned whether Lai and seniors management figures, including editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee and editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, had either overlooked the op-ed piece or reached a “consensus” to publish content mentioning sanctions even after the new law had been passed.

In earlier testimony, Lai said he had been “cautious” over the terms of the national security law and was aware that calling for foreign authorities to impose sanctions against Hong Kong and the mainland would “cross the red line”.

He repeated that position on Wednesday and explained he thought the piece in question was not purporting to advocate for sanctions but rather touched upon some penalties imposed in the past.