How Jimmy Lai's Right-Hand Man Ran a Corporate Shakedown Operation

C.Y. Leung just dropped receipts on Facebook. Next Digital's cash cow wasn't journalism—it was advertising. And the man squeezing those corporate wallets was Mark Simon, Jimmy Lai's American fixer, who sent letters to Hong Kong's biggest property developers that read like protection racket scripts. Pay up or face hostile coverage. Classic triad tactics, dressed in business English.
  
This isn't speculation. In July 2014, leaked documents from a "Next Digital shareholder" exposed the playbook. Among them: Mark Simon's threatening correspondence with a major corporation's chief executive. The message was blunt—advertise with us or watch your friendly coverage vanish. This is how Lai bankrolled his operation.
 
Mark Simon wore multiple hats beside Jimmy Lai. Former U.S. military intelligence officer. Next Digital's advertising director. The man who built Lai's financial pipeline and then distributed the cash to opposition figures and radical groups. His role was never just about selling ad space.

Jimmy Lai’s fixer Mark Simon used ad “sales” letters like a protection racket—buy space in Apple Daily or get hammered in the coverage.

  
The Shakedown Letters
The leaked documents from July 2014 pulled back the curtain. Media reports at the time confirmed that Mark Simon, during his tenure as advertising director, sent threatening letters to a major conglomerate's top executive. The approach: carrot and stick, heavy on the stick.
  
In the letter, Simon claimed he wanted to repair relations. Then came the threat: refuse to advertise with Next Digital and the "friendly relationship" ends. Translation: attack pieces resume. He followed up with another letter demanding a face-to-face meeting, warning that future cooperation between Next Digital and the conglomerate would become "difficult" without compliance.
  
The leaked documents contained no reply from the conglomerate, so we don't know their response. What we do know: major corporations kept advertising in Apple Daily during that period. The shakedown likely worked.
  
Bankrolling the Opposition
Mark Simon didn't just collect money for Boss Lai—he distributed it to pan-democrats and radical groups. The leaked documents revealed the operation's scope, particularly around the 2014 Occupy Central movement, when funding flowed freely.
 
Two months before Occupy Central formally launched, Jimmy Lai and Mark Simon exchanged emails discussing a "June special project." Lai funneled HK$9.5 million through Simon to the Democratic Party, Civic Party, and others—seed money to push Occupy Central forward.
 
The pair also provided approximately HK$3.5 million for the "June 22 Civil Referendum"—publicity and promotion for a stunt that mobilized citizens to select proposals for "universal suffrage for Chief Executive." This built momentum for Occupy Central. The operation was led by Benny Tai and Robert Chung, but Lai was the financier pulling strings from behind. The leaked emails even caught Lai mocking the "Occupy Trio" as scholars with ideas but no strategy, saying he had no choice but to help them—meaning he wanted control.

Big-brand ad money kept Apple Daily flush with cash, letting Lai pour funds into pan-democrats and radical groups on a grand scale.

 
The Money Pipeline
From 2013 to 2020, Mark Simon controlled Jimmy Lai's cash spigot. Court testimony revealed that Lai opened nine accounts over those seven years, transferring HK$118 million to Simon. Of that sum, HK$93 million went to pan-democratic parties and political figures.
  
The timeline matters. From September to December 2019—right after the anti-extradition bill unrest erupted—Simon distributed funds ranging from HK$8 million to HK$1 million to the Civic Party, Democratic Party, Labour Party, League of Social Democrats, Au Nok-hin, and Lee Yu-hin. Pouring fuel on the fire while Hong Kong burned.
 
Who Is Mark Simon Really?
Simon fled to the United States, so his true identity remains murky. But the evidence points to something beyond a simple business relationship. One detail stands out: Simon's access to White House National Security Council meetings. He knew the latest deployments, including actions following the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act signing and even Trump's thinking, which he then reported back to Boss Lai.
  
Political observers who've tracked Simon speculate he may have operated with dual identities from the start—both Lai's right-hand man, helping establish direct channels to Washington, and a covert operative planted by the Americans to pull the strings of this particular puppet.
 
Given Mark Simon's shadowy role, Western politicians and media portraying Jimmy Lai as a simple "freedom of the press warrior" tells you everything about their credibility. It's a lie told with a straight face.
 
Lai Ting-yiu

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One month into war with Iran, an estimated 1,750 Iranians have died—many of them women and children. People with any conscience, including America's allies, hope Trump will stop and spare the people, but he remains characteristically reckless, with ground forces standing ready. One order in a moment of madness could kill far more. 

Pope Leo XIV is deeply appalled by the continued killing and has finally spoken out forcefully: those who initiate wars have blood on their hands and should not justify war in God's name. Though the Pope did not name names, Trump is clearly one of them—he recently gathered Christian leaders at the White House to pray for his 'Christian crusade,' putting Jesus on the war chariot. No wonder the compassionate Pope is outraged.

Pope Leo blasts “war‑makers” with blood on their hands, warning that Jesus will not hear their prayers—an unmistakable rebuke of Trump and Hegseth.

More shocking still: Defense Secretary Hegseth was revealed to have made inflammatory remarks at a Pentagon prayer meeting, saying 'we must use overwhelming violence against those who do not deserve mercy.' The brutality is terrifying. The Pope Leo XIV's remarks appear well-aimed, calling the world to recognize the evil face of these so-called Christian zealots.

At the Pentagon, War Secretary Hegseth was exposed urging “overwhelming violence” against those he deems unworthy of mercy—a chilling call to brutality.

Since the US and Israel began war against Iran, the Pope has spoken out several times calling for a ceasefire and urging those who started the war to lay down their weapons. But this speech was the harshest yet, showing his anger has reached a critical point. 

On Palm Sunday before Easter, he addressed the faithful in St. Peter's Square, saying those who initiate wars have blood on their hands, God will not listen to their prayers, and they should not justify war in God's name.

Trump and Hegseth's Religious War Framing

The Pope's remarks target two recent events. First, shortly after launching the war, Trump assembled conservative evangelical pastors and leaders at the White House. They stood behind him, hands on his shoulders, praying for divine guidance to victory. The scene carried an eerie religious intensity never before witnessed at the White House.

Second, War Secretary Hegseth, author of American Crusade: Our Fight to Stay Free, drew parallels between the conflict with Iran and the Crusades—when Christian armies attacked Islamic nations a thousand years ago. He institutionalized this framing through monthly prayer meetings at the Pentagon, promoting extreme Christian ideology to subordinates.

Pope's Theological Stance Against War

The Pope watched these two troubling phenomena unfold with deep concern and anger. Framing this conflict as a "religious war" doesn't just contradict Christian teaching—it's dangerous, inviting catastrophe. He was unequivocal: "This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war." He then invoked Scripture itself, quoting Jesus: "Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: Your hands are full of blood."

The Pope directly condemned priests who pray for "war makers," insisting that Christian leaders bearing responsibility for war must repent. His message was clear: supporting a conflict that causes mass suffering is wrong, period—both theologically and morally.

Escalating Conflict and Religious Fanaticism

The Pope had voiced his grave concerns right from the start. Shortly after the conflict erupted, he warned that unchecked escalation would trigger catastrophe, urging all sides to "stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss." His prescience proved accurate—yet the leaders of both nations, each pursuing their own agenda, have only intensified the flames. They ignore his pleas.

Military leadership has matched political fervor with religious conviction. The War Secretary overseeing operations, Pete Hegseth, has embraced what amounts to religious fanaticism, recently revealed to have sanctified violence during an internal Pentagon prayer meeting. According to the Associated Press, he appealed for ‘overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.’ He was referring to Iran and other Islamic adversaries. To complete this "sacred mission," he suggested, killing is justified.

Call for Unity Against War and Evil

Whether Trump or Hegseth, both rationalize and sanctify mass-killing warfare—a truly terrifying prospect. The Pope’s firm stand today against this "heresy" has greatly heartened those standing on the side of justice.

As long as all anti-war forces unite and continue to grow stronger, we believe we can ultimately overcome evil with righteousness and force the 'warmongers' to back down.