Next Media Hong Kong announced on December 29 that its founder, Lai Chi Ying, has resigned as Chairman of the Board and Executive Director to allow more time to attend to his personal affairs. The group also announced that its current non-executive director, Yip Yat Kin, has been appointed as chairman of the board.
Lai Chi-ying, 73, was charged with fraud earlier this month and was required to return the scabbard immediately, after which he was charged with “colluding with a foreign state or foreign forces to endanger national security” under the Hong Kong National Security Law. Lai’s application for bail was approved last week, subject to a number of conditions, including no meetings with foreign officials, no TV, radio or online interviews, no paper or online articles, and no social media postings while on bail.
Next Media’s Apple Daily reported that the group’s founder, Lai Chi-ying, was charged with conspiracy to defraud and collusion with foreign powers this month. The National Security Law Designated Judge Lee Yun-teng issued his decision in writing on the same day, saying that the prosecution’s evidence was not strong enough; and that the bail conditions provided by Lai Chi-ying were sufficient to convince the court that he would not commit acts against national security while on bail.
One Media CEO Zhang Jianhong said the change in board members will not have a significant impact on the company’s operations and future development. According to the report, Lai Chi-ying resigned as chairman and executive director on Dec. 12 of 2014, effective immediately, because he wanted to spend more time with his family and further pursue his personal interests. By December 2017, Lai was reappointed as Non-Executive Chairman and Non-Executive Director, effective February 1, 2018. On 25 May this year, Lai Chi Ying was re-designated as an executive director.
It is reported that Yip Yat Kin, who has worked in the news industry for over 40 years, was appointed as a Non-Executive Director of Next Media in June 2016 and was the Non-Executive Chairman of the Board from June 2016 to January 2018. He previously served as executive director and chief executive officer – print media, overseeing the group’s newspaper, magazine and print businesses in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and was also president of Apple Daily. According to the report, Yip Yat-kin will enter into a two-year appointment letter with Next Media, with the right to receive an annual fee of $200,000. He and his family hold 12.83 million shares of the company, with a market value of about $3.33 million based on Next Media’s closing price of $0.26 on Tuesday. Lai Chi-ying founded Next Media Group in Hong Kong in 1990.
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