The international legal team for the imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is on trial for national security offences in Hong Kong, has filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations special rapporteur on torture regarding one of the key prosecution witnesses in Lai’s trial. Lai’s lawyers say there is “credible evidence” that Andy Li, a 33-year-old former pro-democracy activist, was tortured while in prison in mainland China before he confessed to allegedly conspiring with Lai to collude with foreign forces. That is one of the two national security law…
Tag: Hong Kong
Hong Kong beat China at football for first time in 29 years
Hong Kong have beaten China for the first time in 29 years in a friendly football match in Abu Dhabi. Hong Kong’s 2-1 victory over China comes as the former British colony prepares to participate in the Asian Cup for the first time since 1968, when the territory was still under British rule. Hong Kong was passed over from British to Chinese rule in 1997 and is now a “special administrative region” of the People’s Republic of China. But under the terms of the handover agreement, the territory is permitted…
Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to all charges at Hong Kong national security trial
Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges at the resumption of his national security trial in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is facing up to life in prison if found guilty on the charges against him, brought under the 2021 national security law and a colonial-era sedition law. Wearing a white shirt and a navy blue jacket, and surrounded by three prison guards in the defendant’s dock, the 76-year-old replied “not guilty” in English to each of the charges read out on Tuesday. He…
‘I already miss Hong Kong’: Democracy activist Tony Chung on fleeing to the UK
One of the youngest people to be jailed under Hong Kong’s national security law has fled to the UK, where he claimed asylum in the early hours of Thursday morning. Tony Chung, 22, was released from prison in June but was required to meet regularly with Hong Kong’s national security police and abide by certain conditions, which included not leaving the territory without authorisation before June 2024. In December, he got permission from the Hong Kong’s correctional services department to take a short holiday to Okinawa, Japan, for Christmas, on…
Hong Kong Stocks Plunge to Losses for 4th Straight Year
This summer, when Hong Kong’s stock market rout seemed to have no end in sight, the city’s financial chief, Paul Chan, jumped into action, creating a task force to inject confidence into a market that was being pummeled by global investors wary of China. Hong Kong cut taxes on trading and Mr. Chan went on a roadshow to Europe and the United States, promising measures to “let investors feel optimistic about the outlook.” Investors were anything but sanguine, however, and the city’s Hang Seng Exchange is among the world’s worst-performing…
Hong Kong Activist Flees to Britain, Citing Police Pressure
A political activist in Hong Kong previously imprisoned under its sweeping national security law said he had fled to Britain and would apply for asylum there, becoming the second high-profile dissident this month to announce going into exile from the territory. The activist, Tony Chung, revealed on Thursday that he had arrived in Britain, and, in several social media posts, said that he had decided to leave Hong Kong after enduring oppressive restrictions, pressure to act as informant and severe stress after his release from prison in June. Mr. Chung,…
Escaping Xi’s China by paddleboard: ‘I rushed into the water and thought if they catch me, they catch me’
When Li Cheng En pushed his standup paddleboard off the Xiamen beach on China’s Fujian coastline, a mother and son stood nearby, watching him. It was dark, and he moved quickly, but felt sure he’d be caught. Li had spent the day scouting for a secluded beach from which he could launch his bold plan to flee China. But everywhere he went there were fences or security guards and cameras. “At around 7.30pm, when I decided to go, I thought that there was no more choice for me,” he says.…
‘I’m very proud of him’: Sebastien Lai on Hong Kong, accountability and his father Jimmy’s trial
Sebastien Lai is sitting in a downtown coffee shop, on a blustery day in Taipei. The 28-year-old was only recently married, but is spending much of his time flying around the world advocating for his father’s freedom. Days earlier, his father, Jimmy Lai, the prominent media mogul and democracy activist, went on trial in Hong Kong. Lai senior is accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the 2020 national security law, and conspiring to publish seditious material, under a colonial-era sedition law. He faces up to life in…
The Guardian view on Jimmy Lai: this sham trial is another bleak day for Hong Kong | Editorial
Hong Kong police are reportedly deploying 1,000 officers around the clock to guard the courtroom where the trial of Jimmy Lai began on Monday, three years after his arrest. Like the decision to hold the British citizen in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison, this is theatre. Mr Lai, a media mogul and pro-democracy activist, is 76. His allies in the 2019 movement to uphold Hong Kong’s freedoms are themselves in jail or have fled abroad. Political opposition has been ruthlessly suppressed following the protests. Mr Lai is charged with conspiring to…
Jimmy Lai trial: heavy security presence as landmark national security case begins in Hong Kong
The media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has gone on trial at a heavily guarded Hong Kong court on national security charges that could lead to life imprisonment. Lai’s trial, expected to last months, is one of the most high-profile prosecutions in the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on opposition, and has been widely condemned by rights groups and other governments. The 76-year-old pro-democracy activist and founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper has been accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under sweeping legislation…