Police officer in Hong Kong over newspapers filmed in real time as China flexes muscles

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Six weeks after China imposed sweeping national security laws in Hong Kong, police cracked down on media tycoon Jimmy Lai, one of Beijing’s most outspoken critics in the city.

Lai, 71, was abducted early Monday morning from his home by national security police as part of an operation in the city that also saw eight other men arrested, including several of his senior drivers.

Then, just before 10 a.m., hundreds of police officers raided Lai’s Corporate Next Digital (0282.HK) headquarters, where its flagship Apple Daily is produced and published.

Employees said they asked police what legal grounds they had for entering. But these questions were largely ignored as more than 200 police officers streamed in, according to a live feed of the evolving drama.

Apple Law editor-in-chief Ryan Law, who helped with filming and commenting on Facebook’s live feed, could be seen running across the building as he tried to report on events breaking into his own newsroom.

‘This is, I believe, the first time in Hong Kong that police have initiated a mass search at a media outlet like this,’ he said, panting, as he and a colleague stepped into a back stairway to turn around the mass of policemen. to go. .

When the news of the robbery spread, more than 10,000 people voted in favor, watching as Law warned police officers to start filming.

The newsroom was lightly manned at the time.

But the few employees there, some dressed in shorts and sneakers, were told to produce identity documents and register with the police. Some first wanted to see a search.

Some offices were decorated last year with poster art in support of pro-democracy protests, and the Umbrella movement of 2014. One read: “Who’s Afraid of the Truth!”

More police began to arrive, fighting over the newsroom, followed by Law as they sat through the unmanned cabinets in splash fashion, lifting a piece of paper with their hair, picking a folder out of a closet.

“What is the reach of your search area?” one voice was heard shaking from camera. A male officer replied that such inquiries should be made to his supervisors.

Several executive offices, including Lai’s, were closed with a red cordon and guarded by police.

PREPARED FOR RAID

Two months earlier, in an interview with Reuters in one of those sealed rooms, Lai said he was bracing for just such a day: moving assets abroad and making preparations with lawyers.

“Everything will pile up on us,” he had said.

Around 11 a.m., police handcuffed the crew-snatched Lai in his office. When he went to the toilet, an entourage of about 20 officers followed. Several other seniors were also seen being taken into the building.

Police said in a statement that they had issued a court order for their search, and that the nine men had all been arrested for suspected violations of national security law, including collusion with foreign powers.

The police did not release the names or specific prosecutors for any of those arrested.

The robbery, though expected, rattled some employees.

Months before the law went into effect, the newspaper had shredded documents, uploaded digitized files to foreign servers and protected sources, two senior reporters told Reuters, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the situation.

“I was mentally prepared for this,” said one. ‘But emotionally I feel a little bit in conflict. It happened so fast. The government is definitely taking this drastic step to destroy the city’s media freedoms. ”

Police seized 25 boxes of evidence from the building and blocked reporters from other outdoor stores from entering.

Senior police at the scene tried at one point to prevent Apple Daily reporters working on their desks, but fell in love with fierce objections from attending staff.

Law, the editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, said the paper would continue to be published, regardless of what.

“Quite simply,” he told Reuters in a text message.