Hong Kong police arrest media tycoon over suspected collusion with foreign forces: Daily
Iran Press TV
Monday, 10 August 2020 8:25 AM
Police in Hong Kong have reportedly arrested media tycoon Jimmy Lai, also a UK citizen, over suspected collusion with foreign forces.
The 71-year-old was charged with illegal assembly and intimidation in February, but he was granted police bail.
Lai's newspaper Apple Daily said he was taken away from his home early on Monday.
The daily later posted on its Facebook page a livestream of dozens of police officers entering its premises, searching through piles of papers there.
Police said they had a court warrant that allowed them to search the premises.
China's official Global Times newspaper also reported that two of his sons as well as two senior executives of Next Digital had also been arrested.
Police later confirmed they had arrested seven men, aged 39-72, on charges of collusion with foreigners and other offenses, without naming them.
"Offenses include collusion with a foreign country/external elements to endanger national security, Article 29 of the NSL.. Investigation is underway," the police force said on Twitter.
Article 29 deals with offenses that include receiving any kind of support from abroad, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The high-profile arrest is the first of its kind since Beijing adopted a national security law on Hong Kong last month, which criminalizes sedition, secession, and subversion against mainland China.
The law triggered anti-government protests in Hong Kong, with the critics calling the measure a blow to the semi-autonomous region's powers and civil liberties.
Beijing has, however, assured that the law targets a minority of troublemakers that disregard law and order in the Chinese financial hub.
The Global Times on Monday described Lai as "riot supporter" and his publications as having been "instigating hatred, spreading rumors and smearing Hong Kong authorities and the mainland for years."
Lai has been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he has met senior US officials, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong's independence from mainland China.
The US, Britain, and other Western countries have openly slammed the Chinese law and voiced support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong.
Beijing has, on many occasions, slammed the UK and the US for their interference in the affairs of Hong Kong as an internal issue of China.
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