Prosecutors in Jimmy Lai’s marathon national security trial have wrapped up their closing arguments in Hong Kong, telling the court that the elderly media mogul and activist had “unwavering intent” to solicit foreign sanctions. Lai has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to commit foreign collusion under the Beijing-designed national security law, and another charge under the colonial-era laws of conspiring to publish seditious materials. Prosecutors say Lai used his media outlet and foreign political connections to lobby for governments to impose sanctions and other punitive measures against…
Tag: Hong Kong
Hong Kong activist Tony Chung says he has been granted asylum in the UK
The Hong Kong independence activist Tony Chung says he has been granted asylum in the UK, two years after fleeing the Chinese region. Chung, 24, revealed the news on his Instagram page on Sunday, the day after the former Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui said he had been granted asylum in Australia. Both Chung and Hui are among dozens of pro-democracy activists targeted with arrest warrants and 1m Hong Kong dollar bounties by authorities. Chung was one of the youngest people to be sentenced to jail under Hong Kong’s draconian…
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Ted Hui reportedly granted asylum in Australia
The former pro-democracy Hong Kong legislator Ted Hui, who is wanted by authorities in the Chinese city, has been granted asylum in Australia, he said in a social media post, calling on Canberra to do more for those who remain jailed. The special administrative region, handed back to China by the UK in 1997, has seen dissent quashed since Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law following huge and at times violent pro-democracy protests that erupted in 2019. Hui, a high-profile participant at the time who has since resettled in…
Jimmy Lai trial: closing arguments begin in Hong Kong trial of pro-democracy media mogul
Jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s national security trial, which began in late 2023, will enter its final stages on Thursday as lawyers present closing arguments. The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Lai has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, with Western nations and rights groups calling for his release. Aside from the collusion offence – which could land…
Chinese firm a leading contender to buy Thames Water, reports say
A Chinese firm is reportedly a leading contender to buy Thames Water if the heavily indebted company collapses in coming weeks. Hong Kong’s CKI, which invests in power and other utility companies in the UK, is among those lining up to acquire the water and sewerage supplier if it enters a special administration regime (SAR), according to the Times. It has reportedly said it would be prepared to operate under tougher penalties for environmental breaches than Thames’s class A creditors, who have put together their own purchase bid. The creditor…
‘I don’t expect to live a normal life’: how a Leeds teenager woke up with a Chinese bounty on her head
It was Christmas Eve 2024 and 19-year-old Chloe Cheung was lying in bed at home in Leeds when she found out the Chinese authorities had put a bounty on her head. As she scrolled through Instagram looking at festive songs, a stream of messages from old school friends started coming into her phone. Look at the news, they told her. Media outlets across east Asia were reporting that Cheung, who had just finished her A-levels, had been declared a threat to national security by officials in Hong Kong. There was…
Hong Kong activists in Britain should be able to rely on police protection | Letter
The UK has become a hunting ground for authoritarian regimes targeting dissidents, journalists and students. It is appalling that Hong Kong activists who sought refuge here met fear, harassment and intimidation from the government they had escaped, only to receive inadequate protection and little coordinated response (Hong Kong democracy campaigner accuses UK police of asking her to ‘self-censor’, 1 August). Amnesty International has repeatedly documented the Chinese government’s transnational repression, including the surveillance and intimidation of students and activists here in the UK. This includes an alarming escalation in threats…
Penny Wong complained to China about intimidation of exiled Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners
The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, complained about the targeted intimidation of exiled pro-democracy campaigners from Hong Kong directly to her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, during a bilateral meeting in Kuala Lumpur. The July meeting was the first face-to-face discussion between the pair since two Hong Kong activists wanted for alleged national security crimes were subjected to anonymous letters offering Australian neighbours $203,000 to inform on them. The letters are now being investigated by the countering foreign interference taskforce, which is led by Australia’s federal police and the domestic intelligence…
Hong Kong democracy campaigner accuses UK police of asking her to ‘self-censor’
A former Hong Kong politician and prominent democracy campaigner has accused British police of asking her to “self-censor” and “retreat from public life” after officers asked her to agree to avoid public gatherings. The request, outlined in a signed “memorandum of understanding” seen by the Guardian, has alarmed exiled dissidents who fear it may embolden attempts to silence criticism of Chinese and Hong Kong officials worldwide. Carmen Lau, who moved to the UK in 2021, was asked to sign the formal agreement in March by Thames Valley police after her…
White House to end US tariff exemption for all low-value overseas packages
The United States is suspending a “de minimis” exemption that allowed low-value commercial shipments to be shipped to the United States without facing tariffs, the White House said on Wednesday. Under an executive order signed by Donald Trump on Wednesday, packages valued at or under $800 sent to the US outside of the international postal network will now face “all applicable duties” starting on 29 August, the White House said. The US president earlier targeted packages from China and Hong Kong, and the White House said the recently signed tax…