UK warning for China as media tycoon held
Boris Johnson ‘deeply concerned’ by arrest of Jimmy Lai and raid on his newspaper in Hong Kong
BRITAIN has accused China of using the new Hong Kong national security law as a “pretext to silence opposition” after the arrest of Jimmy Lai, a leading media tycoon and protester.
The detention of Mr Lai at his home for suspected collusion with foreign forces is the highest profile arrest yet under the new law in Hong Kong, widely seen as a crackdown by China on the semi-autonomous city’s freedoms.
Boris Johnson’s spokesman said Britain was “deeply concerned” by the arrest, which was carried out alongside a raid on Mr Lai’s newspaper’s offices.
“This is further evidence that the national security law is being used as a pretext to silence opposition,” he said. “The Hong Kong authorities must uphold the rights and freedoms of its people.”
Around 10,000 people had earlier watched a live broadcast of a police raid on the office of Apple Daily, a Hong Kong tabloid published by Mr Lai’s media company, Next Digital. Ryan Law,
the editor-in-chief of Apple Daily, defied police warnings to stop filming as 200 officers streamed into the newspaper’s headquarters, ignoring questions over what legal grounds they had for entering and removing plastic boxes as evidence.
Officers demanded the few employees there produce identity documents and register with police. Staff were seen standing by newsroom desks decorated with bright pro-democracy protest posters, including one reading: “Who’s afraid of the truth!”
Among the others arrested were two of Mr Lai’s sons, young pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow and Wilson Li, a former activist who describes himself as a freelance journalist working for ITV News.
Mr Lai, 72, long an outspoken critic of Beijing, is the most prominent prodemocracy activist to be arrested so far under the national security law. He is also a British citizen, and the first foreign national to be arrested under the new law, imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong, which punishes activities China considers to be subversion, secession, terrorism and foreign collusion, with up to life in prison.
Many have criticised the national security law for crushing the city’s freedoms, which were meant to be guaranteed for 50 years after the colony was returned to Beijing rule from Britain in 1997. Chinese authorities said the law is necessary for stability after mass protests rocked the city last year. Before yesterday, 15 others had been arrested under the new legislation. Many Hong Kong residents have deleted social media posts or made their profiles private over fear that personal commentary online could be deemed as breaching the national security law. Popular protest slogans and songs have also been declared illegal.