HONG KONG – Jimmy Lai, a print activist and a leading critic of the Chinese Communist Party, has been accused of collaborating with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s national security law, police said on Friday. Efforts to defeat prejudice intensified – democratic movement.
Mr. Law is the highest person formally charged under the Security Act. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Srilai, 73, was arrested in August on suspicion of violating heavy security laws imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in June. Even the police Mr Lai’s newspaper raided the headquarters of the Apple Daily, Is the latest anti-Beijing publication in the city.
Mr Lai has called on other countries to punish China for violating its independence in Hong Kong. He traveled to the United States last year Meet the authorities Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. And he has called for sanctions on Chinese officials.
It is not clear what police say he did specifically to violate security laws. As it is written, the law cannot be considered backward. Since it was imposed, Mr. Has said That he will pay more attention to his words.
More than two dozen others have been arrested under the measure. Activist Tony Chung, 19, who was also charged under the law, was on Friday convicted of desecrating the Chinese national flag and participating in an illegal assembly last year. A separate trial is under consideration under the National Security Act.
Mr Lai was already in jail Bail is being denied on charges of unrelated fraud, A decision he is appealing. But because of the charge under the National Security Act, which authorizes the defense without granting bail to the authorities, it is unlikely that he will be released.
The law also changes the legal outlook for Mr. Lai. Defendants can be heard in mainland China, where the legal system is much more ambiguous than in Hong Kong.
Even in Hong Kong, if Mr. Lai is prosecuted, security law authorizes the city’s chief executive, elected by Beijing, to appoint a special judge, and the trial could be held behind closed doors.
Lai is scheduled to appear in court on Saturday, police said.
