Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai charged under national security law

[rooster59]

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai charged under national security law

 

FILE PHOTO: Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily arrives at West Kowloon Courts to face charges related to an illegal vigil assembly for the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, in Hong Kong, China October 15, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

 

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 73, has been charged under the city's national security law on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces, his Apple Daily newspaper reported on Friday, citing a police source.

 

Lai, an ardent critic of Beijing, would be the highest profile person charged under the sweeping new law imposed on the Chinese-ruled city in June.

 

He was due to appear in court on Saturday, according to Apple Daily, a popular tabloid known for its feisty and critical coverage of China and Hong Kong.

 

The security law, which punishes what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in jail, has been condemned by the West and human rights groups as a tool to crush dissent in the semi-autonomous, Chinese-ruled city.

 

Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing say it is vital to plug gaping holes in national security defences exposed by months of sometimes violent anti-government and anti-China protests that rocked the global financial hub over the last year.

 

"The goal is to hold Jimmy Lai, and shut Jimmy Lai up," Mark Simon, an associate of Lai, told Reuters.

 

Hong Kong police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The publishing tycoon is one of the financial hub's most prominent democracy activists, while his Next Media group is considered one of the key remaining bastions of media freedoms in Hong Kong.

 

Tensions between China and the United States have escalated in recent weeks as Washington accuses Beijing of using the security law to trample wide-ranging freedoms guaranteed when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

 

Authorities have intensified a crackdown on opposition forces in the city, dismissing lawmakers from the legislature, conducting widespread arrests and jailing high-profile democracy activists such as Joshua Wong.

 

Lai was denied bail earlier this month following his arrest on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of a building that houses his Apple Daily, an anti-government tabloid.

 

He was arrested in August when about 200 police officers swooped on his offices. Hong Kong police later said they had arrested nine men and one woman for suspected offences including "collusion with a foreign country/external elements to endanger national security, conspiracy to defraud" and others.

 

The tycoon had been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he has met officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a "traitor".

 

(Reporting by Twinnie Siu and Greg Torode in HONG KONG; Writing by Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Sam Holmes, Lincoln Feast and Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-12

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[sscc]

Bloody hell to this very capable Hong Kong billionaire businessman who started from a very humble beginning to make out in two entirely different types of business   --  founder of  "Giordano" clothing brand throughout Asia and  "Apple" newspaper and magazine and media business,. Hong  Kong and Taiwan.  

 

He chose his course, picked his fight and will soon be down to whatever and wherever will be for the rest of his life.   

 

[GinBoy2]

I think there were two very different narratives after the 1997 'handover'

 

Beijing never really thought that in 1997 they regained HK, but economically it was very valuable so they swallowed their pride and accepted One Country Two Systems.

 

On the HK side they saw the handover as a guarantee of their freedoms and way of life for at least 50 years, at which which time China would look more like Hong Kong.

 

Well fast forward 20 years, and Beijing has several internal HK's and its importance has dwindled. 

Mainland China has diverged rather than grown closer to HK,  and now Beijing see's it's time to complete what they see as the unfinished business of 1997. 

 

Jimmy Lai is an unfortunate casualty in this nightmare, but he won't be the last.

 

Hong Kong is at this point a lost cause. Within a few short years it will be just another city within China and the SAR will be a forgotten memory.

 

The West will huff and puff but it won't stop the inevitable outcome.

 

What is, at least in my mind, the more serious question is what that means for Taiwan. 

 

My fear is that emboldened by its takeover of HK it sets its sights on Taipei.

 

That brings the USN into play as the guarantor of Taiwan, and thats when things get really ugly

Edited December 13, 2020 by GinBoy2

[Scott]

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

I think there were two very different narratives after the 1997 'handover'

 

Beijing never really thought that in 1997 they regained HK, but economically it was very valuable so they swallowed their pride and accepted One Country Two Systems.

 

On the HK side they saw the handover as a guarantee of their freedoms and way of life for at least 50 years, at which which time China would look more like Hong Kong.

 

Well fast forward 20 years, and Beijing has several internal HK's and its importance has dwindled. 

Mainland China has diverged rather than grown closer to HK,  and now Beijing see's it's time to complete what they see as the unfinished business of 1997. 

 

Jimmy Lai is an unfortunate casualty in this nightmare, but he won't be the last.

 

Hong Kong is at this point a lost cause. Within a few short years it will be just another city within China and the SAR will be a forgotten memory.

 

The West will huff and puff but it won't stop the inevitable outcome.

 

What is, at least in my mind, the more serious question is what that means for Taiwan. 

 

My fear is that emboldened by its takeover of HK it sets its sights on Taipei.

 

That brings the USN into play as the guarantor of Taiwan, and thats when things get really ugly

Thank you for that informed analysis.  

 

[DJ54]

5 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

My fear is that emboldened by its takeover of HK it sets its sights on Taipei.

 

That brings the USN into play as the guarantor of Taiwan, and thats when things get really ugly

It surely looks like you’re right with Taiwan ramping up.... hopefully 

it doesn’t come to that because it will be very ugly....

[asiacurious]

7 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Well fast forward 20 years, and Beijing has several internal HK's and its importance has dwindled. 

Mainland China has diverged rather than grown closer to HK,  and now Beijing see's it's time to complete what they see as the unfinished business of 1997. 

 

Good post generally, though I would disagree with the bit I quoted above.

 

HK still has one major thing (and therefore a fundamentally vital role) that none of the other "internal HK's" can play - The Hong Kong Dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar and is the major way China (and Chinese companies) move foreign currencies in and out of China.

 

Here are a couple of interesting articles.

 

• The first argues that China will continue to heavily depend on Hong Kong's markets:  https://thediplomat.com/2020/10/hong-kong-is-still-an-irreplaceable-financial-gateway-for-china/

 

• The second argues that with greater global acceptance of the Chinese yuan, Hong Kong won't remain a strategical financial center for China much longer:  https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/China-s-yuan-policy-has-made-Hong-Kong-redundant