Two Hong Kongers accused of being part of a group that campaigned for international sanctions against China yesterday pleaded guilty under the territory’s National Security Law in a case that is linked to jailed pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai (黎智英).
China imposed the sweeping security legislation last year to wipe out dissent after Hong Kong was rocked by huge and often violent democracy protests.
More than 130 people, including many of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates, have since been arrested under the law.
Photo: Reuters
Democracy activist Andy Li (李宇軒), 31, and paralegal Chan Tsz-wah (陳梓華), 30, admitted to a charge of “colluding with foreign forces to endanger China’s national security.”
Prosecutors said they were part of a group that organized the publishing of adverts and articles in overseas newspapers calling for sanctions against China.
They were in custody ahead of their plea.
Little has been heard in open court about the case against the duo, but they are part of a group of people linked to Lai, who is facing the same national security charge.
Authorities have accused Lai, 73, of running a “criminal syndicate” that lobbied for international sanctions against China over its crackdown in Hong Kong.
At yesterday’s hearing, prosecutors read out a summary of the allegations against the two defendants. In it, they accused Lai and his American aide, Mark Simon, of being “masterminds and financial support behind the scene and at the highest level of the syndicate.”
Chan allegedly delivered Lai and Simon’s instructions to Li.
Simon left Hong Kong last year and has previously described the prosecution against Lai and others as a political witch hunt against Beijing’s critics.
In an e-mail, he said he believed that Li and Chan “are making statements under great duress, with questionable legal representation, and with Andy still having charges in China over his head.”
Lai’s newspaper Apple Daily closed in June after authorities used the security law to freeze its assets over the content of the tabloid’s reporting.
Li was one of 12 Hong Kongers who last year made a failed attempt to flee Hong Kong by speedboat for Taiwan.
They were intercepted by the Chinese coast guard and held in detention until their conviction at a closed hearing for illegal border crossing.
The group were eventually returned to Hong Kong custody.
Charges of Li and Chan assisting offenders over the fugitives case have been shelved by the prosecution as the pair pleaded guilty to the collusion offenses.
They were remanded back into custody following their plea with the next hearing scheduled for January.
SOLIDARITY: A group of European lawmakers condemned China’s aggressive moves, while the foreign minister of Lithuania said Taiwan ‘cannot become a second Ukraine’ A German parliamentary delegation would visit Taiwan in the first week of October, German lawmaker Holger Becker on Monday told visiting Democratic Progressive Party legislators Fan Yun (范雲) and Lin I-chin (林宜瑾) at the Bundestag in Berlin. Asked by Fan whether he is worried about possible reprisals from Beijing, such as banning him and his family from entering China, Becker said he is more interested in visiting Taiwan, as “now is the time for democracies to stand together.” Fan and Lin also met with German officials to exchange views on digital education and governance. Investing in digital infrastructure and protecting equal rights to
As China waged extensive military exercises off Taiwan, a group of US defense experts in Washington was focused on their own simulation of an eventual — but for now entirely hypothetical — US-China war over the nation. The unofficial what-if game is being conducted on the fifth floor of an office building not far from the White House, and it posits a US military response to a Chinese invasion in 2026. Even though the participants bring a US perspective, they are finding that a US-Taiwan victory, if there is one, could come at a huge cost. “The results are showing that under
‘SIMULATED ATTACKS’: Ten warships each from China and Taiwan were maneuvering at close quarters in the Taiwan Strait, with some Chinese vessels crossing the median line Taiwan yesterday reiterated that it would not succumb to pressure from Beijing after China carried out its most provocative military drills in decades in retaliation for US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan last week. “We will never bow to pressure. We uphold freedom and democracy, and believe Taiwanese disapprove [of] China’s bullying actions with force and saber rattling at our door,” Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday. China had “arrogantly” disrupted regional peace and stability, he said, calling on Beijing to not flex its military muscles. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has also called on the international community to “support
DRILLS CONTINUE: China’s creation of a restricted zone across the median line of the Taiwan Strait challenges a 70-year-old fact, a ministry of defense official said The nation’s military fully complies with international rules and guidelines when responding to Chinese military drills, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, vowing to continue defending Taiwan in accordance with international law. China on Thursday launched four days of military drills around Taiwan proper in response to US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei. The drills were expected to end on Sunday, but neither Beijing nor Taipei confirmed their conclusion, although the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said it had seen some evidence suggesting at least a partial drawdown. However, China yesterday said the drills would continue, saying “the
RSS