HONG KONG (AP) — A Hong Kong transgender activist on Monday received a new ID card reflecting his gender change, after a yearslong legal battle to change the document, and he vowed to continue working for equality for the LGBTQ+ community.
Henry Tse won his appeal over the government’s refusal to change the gender on his ID card in February 2023. Previously, Tse was not able to make the change because he did not undergo full gender-affirmation surgery.
Last year, the city's top court said the government's policy was unconstitutional in a landmark ruling, arguing it imposed an unacceptably harsh burden. The judgment prompted an easing of rules earlier this month.
Tse's victory is seen as an important step forward for the city's LGBTQ+ community, many of whose transgender members consider the operation unnecessary and risky.
After obtaining his new ID card, Tse told reporters that life has not been easy since he lodged a judicial review in 2017. In addition to the legal challenges, he has also faced obstacles from the government and attacks from others.
“What is normal for many people has finally become normal for us,” Tse said.
Public sentiment in Hong Kong has become increasingly welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community, but many still face challenges in daily life.
Tse said bank staff told him he did not match his ID card and asked him to resubmit documents. He also could not change the gender on his travel permit to mainland China, which caused him a delay when crossing the border. Immigration officials searched their computer for 15 minutes, he said, before finally letting him enter.
In April, the Hong Kong government revised its policy to allow people who have not completed full gender-affirmation surgery to change their genders on ID cards as long as they fulfill certain conditions. The conditions include the removal of breasts for transgender men, the removal of the penis and testes for transgender women, and having undergone continuous hormonal treatment for at least two years before applying.
Applicants also have to continue their hormonal treatment and submit blood test reports for random checks upon the government's request.
Tse, after receiving his new ID card, said he would start changing his other documents, including his passport and bank details. The activist, who was previously active in sports, said he might sign up for a gym membership too.
“It's a return to normal life,” he said.
Activist Henry Tse, who won an appeal to change the gender on his ID card, poses with a mock ID card outside the immigration tower after receiving the new document in Hong Kong, Monday, April. 29, 2024. The Hong Kong transgender activist who fought a years-long legal battle to change the gender on his official identity card finally received the new document on Monday, vowing to continue working hard on the unfinished path of fighting for equality for his community. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)
Activist Henry Tse, who won an appeal to change the gender on his ID card, poses with a mock ID card outside the immigration tower after receiving the new document in Hong Kong, Monday, April. 29, 2024. 2024. The Hong Kong transgender activist who fought a years-long legal battle to change the gender on his official identity card finally received the new document on Monday, vowing to continue working hard on the unfinished path of fighting for equality for his community. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)
Activist Henry Tse, who won an appeal to change the gender on his ID card, shows his ID to the press after receiving the new document in Hong Kong, Monday, April. 29, 2024. The Hong Kong transgender activist who fought a years-long legal battle to change the gender on his official identity card finally received the new document on Monday, vowing to continue working hard on the unfinished path of fighting for equality for his community. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)
Activist Henry Tse, who won an appeal to change the gender on his ID card, speaks to media members after receiving the new document in Hong Kong, Monday, April. 29, 2024. The Hong Kong transgender activist who fought a years-long legal battle to change the gender on his official identity card finally received the new document on Monday, vowing to continue working hard on the unfinished path of fighting for equality for his community. (AP Photo/Vernon Yuen)
NEW YORK (AP) — It wasn't until after a decade in the fold, after his family pleaded with him, after the FBI raided his office, apartment and hotel room, Michael Cohen testified Tuesday, that he finally decided to turn on Donald Trump.
The complicated break led to a 2018 guilty plea to federal charges involving a payment to the porn actor Stormy Daniels to bury her story of an alleged sexual encounter with Trump and to other, unrelated crimes.
And it’s that insider knowledge of shady deals that pushed Manhattan prosecutors to make Cohen the star witness in their case against Trump about that same payment, which they say was an illegal effort to influence the 2016 presidential election.
“To keep the loyalty and to do the things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass, and I suffered the penalty, as has my family,” Cohen testified Tuesday.
But defense attorneys sought to portray Cohen as motivated by vengeance on his former boss, confronting him on the witness stand with his own profane social media about Trump and wanting to see the former president in handcuffs.
The most stunning moment came outside the courtroom Tuesday, when House Speaker Mike Johnson showed up with Trump, who used his powerful bully pulpit to turn his political party against the rule of law by declaring the trial illegitimate. He and other GOP lawmakers are serving as surrogates while Trump himself remains barred by a gag order in the case following an appeals court ruling Tuesday.
“I do have a lot of surrogates, and they’re speaking very beautifully,” Trump said before court as the group gathered in the background. “And they come ... from all over Washington. And they’re highly respected, and they think this is the greatest scam they’ve ever seen.”
The Republican presidential nominee has pleaded not guilty and denies that any of the encounters took place.
As prosecutors laid out their case, Cohen testified about purposefully mislabeled checks, false receipts and blind loyalty that placed Trump at the center of the scheme. The testimony, somewhat dry for a man who was defined for years by his braggadocio as Trump’s problem-zapper, underscored the prosecution’s foundational argument — that the case isn’t about the spectacle of what Trump was paying for, but rather his effort to illegally cover up those payments.
Cohen has testified in detail about how the former president was linked to all aspects of the hush money scheme, and prosecutors believe Cohen’s testimony is critical to their case. But their reliance on a witness with such a checkered past — he was disbarred, went to prison and separately pleaded guilty to lying about a Moscow real estate project on Trump’s behalf — could backfire, especially as Trump’s attorneys continue to cross-examine him.
Blanche spent no time Tuesday asking about the allegations at the center of the trial, instead working to raise doubts about Cohen’s credibility and his motivation for helping prosecutors try to put Trump behind bars.
Amid rapid-fire objections from prosecutors, Blanche probed Cohen’s hyperfocus on Trump, suggesting he's attempted to parlay his insider knowledge into a reduced prison sentence and court supervision for his own crimes, and a new career making millions of dollars criticizing Trump.
Cohen was asked to listen through headphones to a snippet of his podcast, as was Trump while sitting at the defense table. Blanche asked Cohen if he recalled an October 2020 episode in which he said Trump needs to wear handcuffs and that “people will not be satisfied until this man is sitting inside a cell.”
"I wouldn’t put it past me,” Cohen testified.
"Is it fair to say you’re motivated by fame?” Blanche asked.
“No sir, I don’t think that’s fair to say,” Cohen said. “I’m motivated by many things.”
Cohen will be the prosecution's last witness. Trump's defense will begin after Cohen, though it's not clear whether his lawyers will call any witnesses or if Trump will testify in his own defense.
Jurors have already heard how Trump and others in his orbit were reeling after the leak just a few weeks before the 2016 election of an “Access Hollywood” tape in which he bragged about grabbing women by the genitals without their permission. The publication of the tape hastened the payments to Daniels, according to testimony.
Cohen testified that Trump was constantly apprised of the behind-the-scenes efforts to bury stories feared to be harmful to the campaign. And after paying out $130,000 to Daniels in order to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter, Trump promised to reimburse him.
Jurors followed along as Hoffinger, in a methodical and clinical fashion, walked Cohen through that reimbursement process. It was an attempt to show what prosecutors say was a lengthy deception to mask the true purpose of the payments.
As jurors were shown business records and other paperwork, Cohen explained their purpose and reiterated again and again that the payments were reimbursements for the hush money — they weren’t for legal services he provided or for a retainer.
It’s an important distinction, because prosecutors allege that the Trump records falsely described the purpose of the payments as legal expenses. These records form the basis of 34 felony counts charging Trump with falsifying business records. All told, Cohen was paid $420,000, with funds drawn from a Trump personal account.
“Were the descriptions on this check stub false?” Hoffinger asked.
“Yes,” Cohen said.
“And again, there was no retainer agreement,” Hoffinger asked.
“Correct,” Cohen replied.
But prosecutors also spent time working to blunt the potential credibility issues, painting Cohen as a longtime Trump loyalist who committed crimes on behalf of the former president. On the witness stand, Cohen described in detail the April 2018 raid that marked the beginning of the end of his time being devoted to Trump.
“How to describe your life being turned upside-down? Concerned. Despondent. Angry,” Cohen told the jury.
“Were you frightened?” Hoffinger asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
But he was heartened by a phone call from Trump that he said gave him reassurance and convinced him to remain “in the camp.”
He said to me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m the president of the United States. There’s nothing here. Everything’s going to be OK. Stay tough. You’re going to be OK,’” Cohen testified.
Cohen, who once boasted that he would “take a bullet” for Trump, told jurors that he “felt reassured because I had the president of the United States protecting me ... And so I remained in the camp.”
It was his wife and family who finally made him see how sticking by Trump was detrimental.
“What are you doing? We’re supposed to be your first loyalty,” Cohen testified. “It was about time to listen to them,” he said.
Throughout Cohen’s testimony Tuesday, Trump reclined in his chair with his eyes closed and head tilted to the side. He occasionally shifted and leaned forward, opening his eyes and talking to his attorney before returning to his recline. Even some of the topics that have animated him the most as he campaigns didn’t stir his attention.
It was a far cry from the scene last October, when the once-fierce allies faced off at Trump’s civil fraud trial and Trump walked out of the courtroom after his lawyer finished questioning Cohen.
“Mr. Cohen, do you have any regrets about your past work for Donald Trump?” Hoffinger asked as she concluded her questioning.
“I do,” Cohen said. “I regret doing things for him that I should not have. Lying. Bullying people to effectuate a goal. I don’t regret working for the Trump Organization. As I expressed before, I had some very interesting, great times."
Long reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Lisa Mascaro in Washington contributed to this report.
Former President Donald Trump, standing with defense attorney Todd Blanche, speaks at the conclusion of proceedings for the day at his trial at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool)
Defense attorney Todd Blanche cross examines Michael Cohen in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday, testifying in detail how former president was linked to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Mark Peterson/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media outside Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
From left U.S Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy and Republican Congressman Cory Mills of Florida listen as former President Donald Trump talks with reporters outside Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Eric Trump looks on as his father, former President Donald Trump arrives at Manhattan criminal court in New York, on Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Curtis Means/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump gives a thumbs-up as he exits the courtroom during a break at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump returns to proceedings after a break in his trial at Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. . (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court before his trial in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (Justin Lane/Pool Photo via AP)
Michael Cohen testifies as a Wall Street Journal article is displayed on a screen in Manhattan criminal court, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in New York. Donald Trump's fixer-turned-foe Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Tuesday, testifying in detail how former president was linked to all aspects of a hush money scheme that prosecutors say was aimed at stifling stories that threatened his 2016 campaign. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Michael Cohen, right, leaves his apartment building in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe is returning to the witness stand for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe is returning to the witness stand for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. Cohen, former President Donald Trump’s fixer-turned-foe is returning to the witness stand for a bruising round of questioning from the former president’s lawyers. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court in New York, Tuesday, May 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Former President Donald Trump sits in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Mark Peterson/New York Magazine via AP, Pool)
Former President Donald Trump and lawyer Todd Blanche return to his criminal trial after a short break at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Sarah Yenesel/Pool Photo via AP)
FILE - Michael Cohen, former attorney to Donald Trump, leaves the District Attorney's office in New York, March 13, 2023. Cohen is prosecutors' most central witness in former President Donald Trump's hush money trial. But Trump's fixer-turned-foe is also as challenging a star witness as they come. The now-disbarred lawyer has a tortured history with Trump. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, File)
Former President Donald Trump reacts as Michael Cohen testified that he told Trump that the Stormy Daniels story was not contained. in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Michael Cohen, left, testifies on the witness stand in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Assistant district attorney Susan Hoffinger, center, questions witness Michael Cohen, far right, as Donald Trump, far left, looks on in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Michael Cohen testifies on the witness stand with a National Enquirer cover story about Donald Trump displayed on a screen in Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (Elizabeth Williams via AP)
Michael Cohen leaves his apartment building on his way to Manhattan criminal court, Monday, May 13, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
