Jimmy Lai (C), media tycoon and founder of Apple Daily, is escorted by police after he was arrested at his home in Hong Kong, China, on Monday. Photo by Vernon Yuen/EPA-EFE
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Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Police in Hong Kong on Monday raided the offices of local newspaper Apple Daily and arrested several people including the media organization's outspoken pro-democracy founder Jimmy Lai under a new controversial national security law.
Both Samuel Chu, a Hong Kong activist and managing director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council, and Mark Simon, a senior aide to Lai's Next Digital group, confirmed on Twitter that the 71-year-old media tycoon had been arrested.
"Jimmy Lai is being arrested for collusion with foreign powers," Simon said.
The Hong Kong Police Force said it has so far arrested seven people between the ages of 39 and 72 on Monday on suspicion of breaching the new national security law that went into effect early last month criminalizing acts of secession, sedition, subversion, terrorism and working with foreign powers to undermine the national security of the People's Republic of China in Hong Kong.
Specifically, police said the offenses include collusion with a foreign country or external elements.
"Investigation is still underway and further arrests may be made," the force said.
#BREAKING: So far, 7 people, aged between 39 to 72, have been arrested on suspicion of breaches of the #NationalSecurityLaw. Offences include collusion with a foreign country/external elements to endanger national security, Article 29 of the #NSL. Investigation is underway.— Hong Kong Police Force (@hkpoliceforce) August 10, 2020
Police officers also raided the Apple Daily offices in Tseung Kwan O in accordance with a warrant issued by a magistrate to gather evidence, police said in a statement published on Facebook.
Apple Daily reported that nearly 200 officers arrived at its building at around 10 a.m. and that Lai's sons Timothy and Ian along with several senior management of Next Media were arrested.
Simon said police searched the homes of Lai and at least one of his sons and executed a warrant for the newsroom floor of Apple Daily.
"Other members of the group have been detained or taken in for questioning," Simon said.
So far, more than a dozen people have been arrested under the new law since it went into effect but mostly for waving pro-Hong Kong independence banners or chanting such slogans. Four student protesters were arrested late last month on accusations that the created an online organization to unite pro-democracy activists.
Lai, however, is the first household name to be arrested under the law, and his arrested is expected to attract the condemnation of rights groups and Western nations that have previously voiced anger and concern over Beijing's imposition of the draconian national security law on Hong Kong over fears it would be used to punish dissidents, critics and media organizations.
"The arrest of media tycoon Jimmy Lai bears out the worst fears that Hong Kong's national security law would be used to suppress critical pro-democracy opinion and restrict press freedom," Steven Butler, the Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia program coordinator, said in a statement. "Jimmy Lai should be released at once and any charges dropped."
Joshua Wong, a prominent pro-democracy student activist in Hong Kong, described the police action as "the end of press freedom" and "the darkest day of journalists" in Hong Kong.
"I strongly condemn the latest arrest of Jimmy Lai," he tweeted.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has described the law as the "death knell" for the former British colony's autonomy from mainland China, and he joined the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Britain on Sunday stating they are "gravely concerned" over Hong Kong's recent decision to postpone Legislative Council elections by a year and to disqualify 12 pro-democracy candidates from running in the contest.
Late last week, the United States imposed sanctions against Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam and 10 other officials the Trump administration blames with aiding Beijing for implementing the national security law.
Hong Kong media mogul and activist Jimmy Lai arrested for 'collusion with foreign powers'
Issued on: 10/08/2020 -
Media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of Apple Daily (C) is detained by the national security unit in Hong Kong, China August 10, 2020. © Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Text by:NEWS WIRES|
Video by:Shirli SITBON
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been arrested over suspected collusion with foreign forces under the new national security law, his top aide said on Twitter, in what is the highest-profile arrest yet under the legislation.
Lai has been one of the most prominent democracy activists in the Chinese-ruled city and an ardent critic of Beijing, which imposed the sweeping new law on Hong Kong on June 30, drawing condemnation from Western countries.
The new security law punishes anything China considers subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Critics say it crushes freedoms in the semiautonomous city, while supporters say it will bring stability after prolonged pro-democracy protests last year.
"Jimmy Lai is being arrested for collusion with foreign powers at this time," Mark Simon, a senior executive at Lai's media company Next Digital, which publishes local tabloid Apple Daily, said early on Monday.
Police did not immediately comment.
Apple Daily reported that Lai was taken away from his home in Ho Man Tin early on Monday. The paper says one of Lai's sons, Ian, was also arrested at his home.
Around 10 other people were expected to be arrested on Monday, local newspaper South China Morning Post reported, without naming its sources.
Lai was also arrested this year on illegal assembly charges, along with other leading activists, relating to protests last year.
In an interview with Reuters in May, Lai pledged to stay in Hong Kong and continue to fight for democracy even though he expected to be one of the targets of the new legislation.
Before Monday, 15 people had been arrested under the law, including four aged 16-21 late last month over posts on social media.
The new legislation has sent a chill through Hong Kong, affecting many aspects of life. Activists have disbanded their organisations, while some have fled the city altogether.
Slogans have been declared illegal, certain songs and activities such as forming human chains have been banned in schools, and books have been taken off shelves in public libraries.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the territory's current and former police chiefs and eight other top officials for what Washington says is their role in curtailing political freedoms in the territory.
Beijing's top representative office in Hong Kong described the sanctions as "clowning actions."
Beijing and the Hong Kong government have said the law will not affect rights and freedoms, and that it is needed to plug security loopholes. They said it will only target a small minority of "troublemakers."
(REUTERS)
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai arrested under security law
Issued on: 10/08/2020 -
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is one of Beijing's fiercest critics Anthony WALLACE AFP
Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai, one of the city's most vocal Beijing critics, was among seven people arrested Monday under a new national security law, deepening a crackdown on democracy supporters.
The arrests are the latest to target dissidents since Beijing imposed the sweeping law on Hong Kong at the end of June, sending a political chill through the semi-autonomous city.
"They arrested him at his house at about 7am. Our lawyers are on the way to the police station," Mark Simon, a close aide of Lai's, told AFP, adding that other members of the tycoon's media group had also been detained.
In a statement, police said seven people were arrested for colluding with foreign forces -- one of the new national security offences -- and fraud.
A police source confirmed to AFP that 72-year-old Lai was among them.
The security law was introduced in a bid to quell last year's huge and often violent pro-democracy protests, and authorities have since wielded their new powers to pursue the city's democracy camp, sparking criticism from western nations and sanctions from the United States.
Lai owns the Apple Daily newspaper and Next Magazine, two outlets unapologetically pro-democracy and critical of Beijing.
On Twitter, Simon said officers were executing search warrants at Lai's mansion and his son's house.
Few Hong Kongers generate the level of personal vitriol from Beijing that Lai does.
Hong Kong (AFP)
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai, one of the city's most vocal Beijing critics, was among seven people arrested Monday under a new national security law, deepening a crackdown on democracy supporters.
The arrests are the latest to target dissidents since Beijing imposed the sweeping law on Hong Kong at the end of June, sending a political chill through the semi-autonomous city.
"They arrested him at his house at about 7am. Our lawyers are on the way to the police station," Mark Simon, a close aide of Lai's, told AFP, adding that other members of the tycoon's media group had also been detained.
In a statement, police said seven people were arrested for colluding with foreign forces -- one of the new national security offences -- and fraud.
A police source confirmed to AFP that 72-year-old Lai was among them.
The security law was introduced in a bid to quell last year's huge and often violent pro-democracy protests, and authorities have since wielded their new powers to pursue the city's democracy camp, sparking criticism from western nations and sanctions from the United States.
Lai owns the Apple Daily newspaper and Next Magazine, two outlets unapologetically pro-democracy and critical of Beijing.
On Twitter, Simon said officers were executing search warrants at Lai's mansion and his son's house.
Few Hong Kongers generate the level of personal vitriol from Beijing that Lai does.
For many residents of the restless semi-autonomous city, he is an unlikely hero -- a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to criticise Beijing.
But in China's state media he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind last year's protests and the head of a new "Gang of Four" conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.
Allegations of Lai colluding with foreigners went into overdrive in state media last year when he met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence.
- 'Prepared for prison' -
Lai spoke to AFP in mid-June, two weeks before the new security law was imposed on Hong Kong.
"I'm prepared for prison," he said. "If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive."
But in China's state media he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind last year's protests and the head of a new "Gang of Four" conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.
Allegations of Lai colluding with foreigners went into overdrive in state media last year when he met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence.
- 'Prepared for prison' -
Lai spoke to AFP in mid-June, two weeks before the new security law was imposed on Hong Kong.
"I'm prepared for prison," he said. "If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive."
He brushed off the collusion allegations, saying Hong Kongers had a right to meet with foreign politicians.
His life is a rags to riches story.
He arrived in Hong Kong aged 12 fleeing communist China. Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.
Beijing's deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square turned him political and he became one of the few tycoons in Hong Kong willing to criticise China.
His life is a rags to riches story.
He arrived in Hong Kong aged 12 fleeing communist China. Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.
Beijing's deadly 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy students in Tiananmen Square turned him political and he became one of the few tycoons in Hong Kong willing to criticise China.
Authorities started shutting down his clothing empire on the mainland, so he sold it and turned to publishing raucous tabloids instead.
In the June interview with AFP, Lai described Beijing's new security law as "a death knell for Hong Kong" and said he feared authorities would come after his journalists.
The law targets secession, subversion, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.
Both China and Hong Kong have said it will not affect freedoms and only targets a minority.
But its broadly-worded provisions criminalise certain political speech overnight, such as advocating for sanctions, greater autonomy or independence for Hong Kong.
Critics, including many Western nations, believe the law has ended the key liberties and autonomy that Beijing promised Hong Kong could keep after its 1997 handover by Britain.
In the June interview with AFP, Lai described Beijing's new security law as "a death knell for Hong Kong" and said he feared authorities would come after his journalists.
The law targets secession, subversion, terrorism and colluding with foreign forces.
Both China and Hong Kong have said it will not affect freedoms and only targets a minority.
But its broadly-worded provisions criminalise certain political speech overnight, such as advocating for sanctions, greater autonomy or independence for Hong Kong.
Critics, including many Western nations, believe the law has ended the key liberties and autonomy that Beijing promised Hong Kong could keep after its 1997 handover by Britain.
Its rollout has been combined with ramped up police action against democracy supporters.
About two dozen -- including Lai -- have been charged for defying a police ban to attend a Tiananmen remembrance vigil in early June. Lai and many others are also being prosecuted for taking part in last year's protests.
Last month a dozen high-profile pro-democracy figures were disqualified from standing in local elections for holding unacceptable political views.
The banned opinions included being critical of the security law and campaigning to win a majority in the city's partially-elected legislature in order to block government laws.
About two dozen -- including Lai -- have been charged for defying a police ban to attend a Tiananmen remembrance vigil in early June. Lai and many others are also being prosecuted for taking part in last year's protests.
Last month a dozen high-profile pro-democracy figures were disqualified from standing in local elections for holding unacceptable political views.
The banned opinions included being critical of the security law and campaigning to win a majority in the city's partially-elected legislature in order to block government laws.
Shortly after the disqualifications, city leader Carrie Lam postponed the elections for a year, citing a surge in coronavirus cases.
© 2020 AFP
© 2020 AFP
Jimmy Lai: the Hong Kong media tycoon that China loathes
Issued on: 10/08/2020 -
Few Hong Kongers generate the level of vitriol from Beijing that Lai does
Anthony WALLACE AFP/File
Hong Kong (AFP)
A rags-to-riches millionaire, media tycoon Jimmy Lai is a self-styled "troublemaker" who has been a thorn in Beijing's side for decades thanks to his caustic tabloids and unapologetic support for democracy.
Lai's arrest on Monday under a new national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong will come as little surprise to observers, including the publisher himself, who said he knew he would be a prime target.
"I'm prepared for prison," the 71-year-old told AFP from the offices of Next Digital, Hong Kong's largest and most rambunctiously pro-democracy media group, in an interview two weeks before the security law was enacted on 30 June.
"If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive."
Few Hong Kongers generate the level of vitriol from Beijing that Lai does.
For many residents of the semi-autonomous city, he is an unlikely hero -- a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to criticise Beijing.
But in China's state media he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind last year's huge pro-democracy protests and the head of a new "Gang of Four" conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.
- 'It feels right' -
Like many of Hong Kong's tycoons, Lai rose from poverty.
He was born in mainland China's Guangdong province into a wealthy family but they lost it all when the communists took power in 1949.
Smuggled into Hong Kong aged 12, Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.
But his path diverged from those of his contemporaries in 1989, when China sent tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
He founded his first publication shortly after and penned columns regularly criticising senior Chinese leaders.
Authorities began closing his mainland clothing stores, so Lai sold up and ploughed the money into a tabloid empire.
Asked why he didn't just keep quiet and enjoy his wealth like Hong Kong's other tycoons, Lai replied: "Maybe I'm a born rebel, maybe I'm someone who needs a lot of meaning to live my life besides money."
- Prosecutions and payback -
Lai is no stranger to arrest.
Along with dozens of prominent pro-democracy activists, he is facing separate prosecutions both for taking part in last year's protests and for defying police to attend a banned Tiananmen vigil on June 4.
Before the new security law was passed, Chinese state media often accused him of colluding with foreigners, especially after he had a meeting last year with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice-President Mike Pence.
During AFP's interview Lai described the proposed security law as "a death knell for Hong Kong".
"It will supersede or destroy our rule of law and destroy our international financial status," he said.
He also feared for his journalists.
"Whatever we write, whatever we say can be subversion, can be sedition," he predicted.
His two primary titles -- the Apple Daily newspaper and the digital-only Next magazine -- openly back democracy protests in a city where competitors either support Beijing or tread a far more cautious line.
The two publications have been largely devoid of advertisements for years as brands steer clear of incurring Beijing's wrath, Lai plugging the losses with his own cash.
But they are popular, offering a heady mix of celebrity news, sex scandals and genuine investigations such as a recent series looking at how the houses of some senior police officers violated building codes.
Lai said he was determined to stay in Hong Kong even once the security law came in.
"The only thing we can do is persist, not to lose spirit or hope," he said. "And to think that what is right will eventually prevail."
Asked why he risked both his wealth and freedom by criticising Beijing and publicly supporting Hong Kong's democracy movement, he replied: "I'm a troublemaker.
"I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything. Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it."
© 2020 AFP
Hong Kong (AFP)
A rags-to-riches millionaire, media tycoon Jimmy Lai is a self-styled "troublemaker" who has been a thorn in Beijing's side for decades thanks to his caustic tabloids and unapologetic support for democracy.
Lai's arrest on Monday under a new national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong will come as little surprise to observers, including the publisher himself, who said he knew he would be a prime target.
"I'm prepared for prison," the 71-year-old told AFP from the offices of Next Digital, Hong Kong's largest and most rambunctiously pro-democracy media group, in an interview two weeks before the security law was enacted on 30 June.
"If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive."
Few Hong Kongers generate the level of vitriol from Beijing that Lai does.
For many residents of the semi-autonomous city, he is an unlikely hero -- a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to criticise Beijing.
But in China's state media he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind last year's huge pro-democracy protests and the head of a new "Gang of Four" conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.
- 'It feels right' -
Like many of Hong Kong's tycoons, Lai rose from poverty.
He was born in mainland China's Guangdong province into a wealthy family but they lost it all when the communists took power in 1949.
Smuggled into Hong Kong aged 12, Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.
But his path diverged from those of his contemporaries in 1989, when China sent tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
He founded his first publication shortly after and penned columns regularly criticising senior Chinese leaders.
Authorities began closing his mainland clothing stores, so Lai sold up and ploughed the money into a tabloid empire.
Asked why he didn't just keep quiet and enjoy his wealth like Hong Kong's other tycoons, Lai replied: "Maybe I'm a born rebel, maybe I'm someone who needs a lot of meaning to live my life besides money."
- Prosecutions and payback -
Lai is no stranger to arrest.
Along with dozens of prominent pro-democracy activists, he is facing separate prosecutions both for taking part in last year's protests and for defying police to attend a banned Tiananmen vigil on June 4.
Before the new security law was passed, Chinese state media often accused him of colluding with foreigners, especially after he had a meeting last year with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Vice-President Mike Pence.
During AFP's interview Lai described the proposed security law as "a death knell for Hong Kong".
"It will supersede or destroy our rule of law and destroy our international financial status," he said.
He also feared for his journalists.
"Whatever we write, whatever we say can be subversion, can be sedition," he predicted.
His two primary titles -- the Apple Daily newspaper and the digital-only Next magazine -- openly back democracy protests in a city where competitors either support Beijing or tread a far more cautious line.
The two publications have been largely devoid of advertisements for years as brands steer clear of incurring Beijing's wrath, Lai plugging the losses with his own cash.
But they are popular, offering a heady mix of celebrity news, sex scandals and genuine investigations such as a recent series looking at how the houses of some senior police officers violated building codes.
Lai said he was determined to stay in Hong Kong even once the security law came in.
"The only thing we can do is persist, not to lose spirit or hope," he said. "And to think that what is right will eventually prevail."
Asked why he risked both his wealth and freedom by criticising Beijing and publicly supporting Hong Kong's democracy movement, he replied: "I'm a troublemaker.
"I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything. Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it."
© 2020 AFP
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