Bloomberg
Hong Kong national security police arrested a 75-year-old pro-democracy activist, according to a Chinese state media report that called him an “anti-China disruptor.â€
Koo Sze-yiu, a member of the League of Social Democrats, was arrested shortly after 6 a.m. Friday on suspicion of inciting subversion of state power under the city’s national security law, according to China’s official Xinhua News Agency. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The arrest came as President Xi Jinping prepared to host the opening ceremony for the Beijing Winter Olympics, which officials from the US and other countries have avoided due to concerns over China’s rights record. Four other people were also brought in to assist police in their investigation, the Xinhua report said.
Koo has been arrested multiple times in recent decades. He was sentenced to four months in jail for desecrating the Chinese flag in January 2021, when he had stage-four colon cancer, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020, criminalizing subversion, secession, colluding with foreign forces and terrorist activities in the wake of huge anti-government protests.