Hong Kong tycoon faces national security charge

Hong Kong tycoon faces national security charge

Media mogul Jimmy Lai could face life term if found guilty under Beijing-imposed law

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai is led toward a vehicle at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to be transported to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong for a hearing on Saturday.  (Bloomberg Photo)
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai is led toward a vehicle at the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre to be transported to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts in Hong Kong for a hearing on Saturday. (Bloomberg Photo)

HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon and Beijing critic Jimmy Lai appeared in court on Saturday morning to face a charge under the Beijing-imposed national security law that could put him in jail for life.

He is accused of colluding with foreign countries, by calling on overseas governments to sanction Hong Kong and China in response to the crackdown on pro-democracy activism in the city.

Lai, 73, is the most high-profile figure charged under the sweeping law, which has targeted the pro-democracy movement but brought a semblance of calm to the territory after months of often-violent protests.

The police’s new national security department charged him on Friday with “collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” under the security law. The offence carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment.

The prosecutor told the court Lai’s offence was requesting, from July 1 to Dec 1, that a foreign country or institution, organisation or individual outside mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau “impose sanctions or blockade, or engage in other hostile activities” against Hong Kong and China.

Lai, dressed in a suit and calm throughout, said he acknowledged the charge.

Chief Magistrate Victor So, one of the six magistrates hand-picked by the city’s pro-Beijing leader Carrie Lam to handle national security cases, said the prosecution needed time to further investigate more than a thousand messages from Lai’s Twitter accounts, a number of media interviews the tycoon gave, and a number of overseas visits in relation to calls for US sanctions against Hong Kong and China.

After the hearing, Lai’s supporters shouted words of encouragement, which he returned with a heart-shaped hand gesture.

Lai is the owner of Apple Daily, a popular newspaper that is unashamedly pro-democracy and fiercely critical of authorities. Police raided the paper’s Hong Kong headquarters in August and arrested a string of senior company figures, including Lai.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV in late May, Lai called on US President Donald Trump to hammer Hong Kong’s economy to punish authorities for their imposition of the national security law.

“Our only salvation is for President Donald Trump to impose sanctions,” he said at the time, adding that the most impactful initial move would be to freeze the bank accounts of top Chinese officials. “We are very hopeful that … he will impose very draconian sanctions on China.”

Last week, Lai was denied bail and remanded in custody until April after being charged with fraud. He was set to apply for bail on that charge at the High Court on Tuesday.

However, the sweeping law states that no bail should be granted unless the judge has sufficient grounds to believe the suspect will not continue to endanger national security.

On Saturday, magistrate So denied Lai’s bail application.

The controversial law also allows some trials to be heard behind closed doors, or even to be tried in mainland China.

Beijing’s clampdown on Hong Kong, especially prominent political figures, has dramatically accelerated since it imposed the security law in June.

Opposition lawmakers have been disqualified from the legislature and leading democracy activists have been jailed.

Two dozen people have been arrested under the law and four have so far been officially charged.

Mark Simon, Lai’s long-time personal assistant, said the prosecution’s case against Lai did not appear very convincing, at least based on the standards of Hong Kong, which has long prided itself on the rule of law.

“It will be based on who he spoke with on Twitter and in interviews — it basically looks like it’s all based on open press interviews,” said Simon. “It would be more confidence-boosting of the Hong Kong legal system if [prosecutors] had more to present than what was shown today.”

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