Hong Kong authorities yesterday broadened their enforcement of a new National Security Law, arresting tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英), searching the headquarters of his Next Digital (壹傳媒) group and carting away boxes of what they said was evidence.
The police action marked the first time the law was used against news media, stoking fears that authorities are suppressing press freedom.
Next Digital operates the Chinese-language Apple Daily, which last year frequently urged readers to take part in the anti-government protests.
Photo: AFP
Hong Kong police arrested Lai, 71, yesterday morning, an aide to the businessman said, in the highest-profile detention under the new law since it took effect on June 30.
Mark Simon, a Next Digital executive and Lai’s aide, said Lai was charged with collusion with foreign powers.
He said police searched the homes of Lai and two of his sons and detained four other members of the media company.
Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong police said they arrested at nine men and one woman between the ages of 23 and 72 on suspicion of violating the new security legislation, with offenses including collusion with a foreign country and conspiracy to defraud.
They did not release the names of those arrested or provide further details of the charges.
However, the pro-democracy Stand News Web site reported that Lai’s eldest son, Lai Kin-yan (黎見恩), was wanted for conspiracy to defraud, while his second son, Lai Yiu-yan (黎耀恩), was wanted for colluding with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security.
Photo: Reuters
Following Jimmy Lai’s arrest, about 200 police raided Next Digital’s headquarters, cordoning off the area, searching desks and at times getting into heated exchanges with staff.
What police were looking for in the building was not clear, although they later said they took away 25 boxes of evidence for processing.
Jimmy Lai, who was arrested at his mansion in Kowloon, was also brought to Next Digital’s headquarters, where he remained for about two-and-a-half hours before police took him away in a car.
“We are completely shocked by what’s happening now, with the arrest and followed by the ongoing raid inside the headquarters of Next Digital,” Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Chris Yeung (楊健興) said.
“With the passage of the National Security Law and the really tough powers given to the police in their operations, we have seen now what we call ‘white terror’ become a reality, which will affect media organizations and journalists’ reporting,” Yeung said.
Police unblocked Next Digital’s offices at mid-afternoon, with police Senior Superintendent Steve Li Kwai-wah (李桂華) saying that staff were free to resume their work.
The share price of Next Digital soared more than 200 percent in the afternoon, following posts on a popular online forum encouraging investors to support the company by buying its stock.
Additional reporting by staff writer
The Philippine Coast Guard yesterday said it has deployed its largest vessel and an aircraft to challenge a Chinese research ship operating off northern Batanes near Taiwan, adding that a Chinese coast guard vessel had also moved in. The Philippine operation “disrupted the vessel’s unauthorized marine scientific research and compelled it to leave its loitering position,” said Jay Tarriela, Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson on South China Sea issues. The Philippine Coast Guard said the BRP Teresa Magbanua and an aircraft were deployed to counter the Chinese vessel, which it said had remained about 37 nautical miles northwest of Itbayat Island since Monday. The
RUNWAY: Analysts said the first aircraft landing is expected by the middle of next year, while Chinese state media said it would serve civilian needs Chinese construction of a runway on Antelope Reef (Lingyang Reef, 羚羊礁) in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), is well under way with analysts estimating it could be completed by the middle of next year, strengthening Beijing’s military control over the disputed South China Sea. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show grading work, piles of gravel and concrete, and compaction cranes in operation to build a full-scale runway that military attaches and security analysts say could be one of China’s most important offshore bases in the region. The images, taken on Friday last week by commercial satellite imagery provider Vantor, also show
SHIFTING COOPERATION: With the new arrangement, US representatives would be able to participate directly in defense discussions, including weapons procurement Taiwan-US military cooperation is deepening, with the Pentagon expected to station personnel at the Ministry of National Defense (MND), sources said. The NT$470 million (US$14.77 million) joint program is scheduled to run from this year through 2028, under which the Pentagon would dispatch representatives from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Institute for Defense Analyses, a senior military official said on condition of anonymity, adding that one representative from each organization would be stationed at the ministry’s headquarters. The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy is one of the US’ bodies responsible for
The Presidential Office today condemned China's transnational repression after an alleged Chinese foreign agent was arrested in California yesterday on suspicion of surveilling President William Lai's (賴清德) son, Lai Ting-yu (賴廷與), the FBI said. The 34-year-old woman, named Wanying Heather Zhang (張婉瑩), was arrested on suspicion of acting as an unregistered foreign agent, US news agency CBS reported. She was apprehended at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday attempting to fly to Shanghai, it said. This represents a “typical case” of China’s transnational repression, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said today. "Our country expresses the strongest condemnation of such barbaric conduct that
RSS