Jimmy Lai denied bail once again

PROMINENT Hong Kong democracy advocate and newspaper publisher Jimmy Lai, above, has again been denied bail ahead of his April trial on charges of colluding with foreign forces.

Mr Lai is one of several activists facing charges and possibly lengthy prison terms under the sweeping National Security Law that Beijing imposed on the semiautonomous southern Chinese city last year following massive anti-government protests in 2019.

Critics at home and abroad say the legislation amounts to a crackdown on political dissent and free speech that is eroding the rights and freedoms promised to Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” framework following the handover from British colonial rule in 1997.