HK’s Lai charged with endangering ‘security’

Bloomberg

Hong Kong media tycoon and prominent pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai was charged with colluding with foreign forces under the city’s sweeping new national security law and denied bail in a court appearance on Saturday.
Prosecutors told the West Kowloon Magistracy that Lai committed the offense — calling for a foreign entity to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong or China — between July 1 and December 1 this year.
The case was adjourned to April 16 for the investigation to continue and for evidence, including about 1,000 Twitter posts, to be reviewed.
“It will be based on who he spoke with on Twitter and in interviews — it basically looks like it’s all based on open press interviews,” said Mark Simon, Lai’s long-time personal assistant. “It would be more confidence boosting of the Hong Kong legal system if they had more to present than what was shown today.”
In early December, Lai, the 73-year-old founder of Next Digital Ltd and owner of the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, was denied bail on new charges relating to his dramatic August arrest under Hong Kong’s controversial new security measures.
Next Digital said it sees no “immediate material adverse impact” on its operations from the absence of Lai.