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Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was denied bail on Thursday on a fraud charge. The accusations relate to the lease of a building that houses his Apple Daily, an anti-government tabloid.
Lai, 73, and two senior executives at his company Next Digital were charged the previous day on suspicion of concealing and falsely representing the use of his office to his landlord, a public corporation established by the Hong Kong government.
The charge indicated that they were not using the office space as allowed by the lease between 2016 and 2020, and they had sublet a portion of the premises, resulting in profits for Apple Daily.
Jimmy Lai was among 10 people arrested in August on suspicion of ‘violating national security law’
Growing repression in Hong Kong
Also on Wednesday, prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong was jailed for more than 13 months for his role in an illegal anti-government rally in 2019. It was the harshest and highest-profile sentence of an opposition figure this year.
Authorities have stepped up their crackdown on key opposition figures in the Chinese-ruled city since Beijing bypassed the local legislature and imposed controversial national security legislation on June 30.
The law, which focuses broadly on secession, subversion, collusion with foreign forces, and terrorism, has drawn widespread international criticism.
Critics say it crushes freedoms in the world’s financial center, while supporters say it will bring stability after prolonged anti-China and pro-democracy protests last year.
month / rt (Reuters, DPA, AP)
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