HONG KONG: Hong Kong media tycoon and Beijing critic Jimmy Lai was charged under a new national security law on Friday (Dec 11), accused of colluding with foreign forces.
Lai, an ardent critic of Beijing, became the most high profile person charged under the sweeping new law.
The law has been condemned by the West and human rights groups as a tool to crush dissent. Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing say it is vital to plug gaping holes in national security defences exposed by months of sometimes violent protests that rocked the city over the last year.
News of the charges comes as authorities intensify a crackdown on opposition forces that has seen lawmakers dismissed and high-profile democracy activists such as Joshua Wong jailed.
Lai, 73, was charged "with one count of 'collusion with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security'", police said in a statement.
National security offences carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
READ: Hong Kong national security law: 5 key facts you need to know
The publisher will appear in court on Saturday in relation to the national security charge, police said.
Lai is the owner of Hong Kong's best-selling Apple Daily, a popular tabloid that is unashamedly pro-democracy and fiercely critical of authorities.
Police raided the newspaper's headquarters in August and arrested a string of senior company figures, including Lai, on suspicion of "collusion with foreign forces" under the vaguely worded new law that Beijing imposed on Hong Kong.
He was denied bail earlier this month on a separate charge of fraud related to the lease of a building that houses Apple Daily. He is set to apply for bail on that charge at the High Court on Tuesday.
Lai 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".
He was being prosecuted for his alleged part in last year's anti-government rallies.
Prosecutors have tried bringing cases against him in the past.
He was acquitted in September of intimidating a reporter from a rival pro-government newspaper.
The corruption watchdog also dropped a case against him over political donations to supporters after four years of investigations.
Authorities deny targeting Apple Daily or Lai and said police are simply enforcing breaches of the law.
READ: Hong Kong security law: Hailed by China loyalists, decried by the West
The pro-Beijing authorities in the finance hub have increasingly targeted prominent members of Hong Kong's democracy movement, including young leaders such as Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow, who were jailed last week.
The crackdown has provoked outrage in the West and fear for millions who last year took to the streets to protest China's tightening grip on the city.
Beijing says stability and order has been restored and has dismissed the huge crowds that protested as a foreign plot to destabilise China.
READ: China's polarising new security law: Sunset for Hong Kong, or a return to stability?
Critics say Beijing has shredded the freedoms and autonomy Hong Kong was promised ahead of its handover by Britain.
Lai has long said he fears authorities want to shutter his newspaper, one of the few local outlets still willing to vocally take on Beijing.
In Chinese state media, he is routinely cast as a traitor and "black hand".
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2020-12-11 14:37:30Z
CBMicWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vbmV3cy9hc2lhL2hvbmcta29uZy1tZWRpYS10eWNvb24tamltbXktbGFpLWNoYXJnZWQtbmF0aW9uYWwtc2VjdXJpdHktbGF3LTEzNzUwMTY40gEA
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