Millions of people took to the streets to protest against the amendment of the “Extradition Ordinance”, and the “anti-extradition” protest wave broke out in full swing. Li Zhiying walked in the lead queue of the organizer Civil Human Rights Front that day.
Jimmy Lai was received by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo successively in the United States. The Commissioner of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hong Kong accused the United States of having “ulterior motives.”
AFP
The Global Times, a tabloid under the CCP’s People’s Daily, published an editorial, accusing Jimmy Lai and the pro-democracy veteran Martin Lee as “typical modern traitors.” On August 13, the official Xinhua News Agency issued another article accusing everyone of being “the leader of chaos in Hong Kong.”
Li Zhiying was thrown a petrol bomb at his Kowloon mansion, but Li Zhiying was not injured. On October 13, paint was splashed on three restaurants held by Li Zhiying’s second son, Li Yaoen.
Getty Images
Taiwan held a televised presidential election debate. Chinese Kuomintang candidate Han Kuo-yu publicly accused Li Zhiying of introducing “Apple Daily” and “Next Magazine” to Taiwan, “making Taiwan bloody.” South Korea’s Yu challenged Democratic Progressive Party member Tsai Ing-wen to be re-elected as president but failed.
AFP via Getty Images
Li Zhiying, Democratic Party veteran Yang Sen and Li Zhuoren, a senior member of the stake, were arrested in the early morning. The three were involved in the rally on August 31, 2019, and were prosecuted for unauthorized assembly; Li Zhiying was also prosecuted for intimidating hostile newspaper reporters at the “June 4th” rally in 2017, but was later acquitted.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
Li Zhiying, Li Zhuming, Li Zhuoren and other 15 pan-democrats were arrested. The police accused each of them of organizing and participating in the unauthorized assembly on August 18, October 1 and October 20, 2019, and prosecuted each of them.
Ta Kung Pao
The “Ta Kung Pao”, which is directly under the Chinese central government’s Hong Kong authority, accused Jimmy Lai of operating his personal secretarial company Lego in the headquarters of Next Media, which was suspected of violating the land deed with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Park Company of the SAR government.
AFP via Getty Images
The third session of the 13th National People’s Congress of China concluded and passed a resolution on the formulation of the “Hong Kong National Security Law”, which will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress for legislation, and then directly added to the Third Schedule of Hong Kong’s “Basic Law” for promulgation and implementation.
LightRocket via Getty Images
“Apple Daily” launches an English version, provides news through the website and mobile application, and invites columnists to write opinion articles. On the day of its inauguration, the Chinese version was given a free trial of the English version of “[International Lines]”Apple”! “Published a publicity draft for the title.
The Hong Kong police banned the “June 4th” candlelight vigil for the first time, citing the new crown virus disease (COVID-19) epidemic. Li Zhiying and several members of the Standing Committee of the Stake still went to Victoria Park, and were later prosecuted for “inciting others to participate in an unauthorized assembly”.
The Hong Kong Police Commercial Crime Bureau raided an office in Wan Chai to investigate allegations that Lego Consultants improperly used land subsidized by the Science Park Corporation.
Hong Kong Information Services Department
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China passed the “Hong Kong National Security Law”, which was signed and announced by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor late at night, and it will take effect immediately.
Li Zhiying and several senior executives of Next Media were arrested by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police on suspicion of “colluding with foreign forces”. More than 200 police officers came to the headquarters of Next Media and the “Apple Daily” newspaper to search, and they were released on bail two days later. During the period, Next Media’s share price on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange skyrocketed.
The Hong Kong police arrested 15 people, saying that they were suspected of manipulating Next Media’s stock price and were suspected of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. Li Zhiying was not included. The unit investigating the case is the property investigation team of the Narcotics Investigation Bureau.
When Li Zhiying appeared in court for the unauthorized assembly case of “June 4th” in 2020, an office of Li Zhiying in Kwun Tong, Kowloon was searched by the police. “Apple Daily” said that the office was Lego’s office, and the Hong Kong police confirmed that the search was carried out by the National Security Department, which means that the case has been taken over by the National Security Department.
South China Morning Post via Getty Images
As the polling day for the U.S. presidential election approaches, the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) disclosed that an investigative report alleging that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, had ties to China was allegedly falsified. “Apple Daily” later admitted that it was related to Li Zhiying’s personal assistant Mark Simon (Mark Simon).
Li Zhiying reported to the police station according to the order and was detained for investigation on December 2. He was charged with fraud the next day and brought to court. The charge sheet confirmed that the case was investigated and handled by the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police, and the case was brought to court by a magistrate designated by the National Security Law. Li Zhiying was refused bail and was detained pending trial.
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Li Zhiying, who is on remand, became the first person to be prosecuted for the crime of “colluding with foreign countries or foreign forces to endanger national security” under the “Hong Kong National Security Law”. The offense is punishable by up to life imprisonment (life imprisonment).
EPA/JEROME FAVRE
The Hong Kong High Court granted Li Zhiying bail pending trial, and the Department of Justice appealed to the Court of Final Appeal. The CCP’s “People’s Daily” published an online commentary article, questioning the inability of the Hong Kong courts to govern, and proposed that the National Security Office of the Chinese Central Government in Hong Kong has the right to intervene, that is, to exercise jurisdiction to take over the investigation of the case, and hand it over to the procuratorate designated by the Supreme Procuratorate of China, and then China The Supreme Court designated a court to hear the case, and the entire process was carried out in accordance with China’s “Criminal Procedure Law” and other regulations, and the laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region no longer apply.
On December 31, the Court of Final Appeal approved the Department of Justice’s appeal on Li Zhiying’s bail, during which Li Zhiying must resume custody.
On February 9, 2021, the Final Court ruled in favor of the Department of Justice, and Li Zhiying continued to be remanded in custody pending trial.
South China Morning Post via Getty Images
British QC David Perry QC (now David Perry KC) resigned from the Department of Justice of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the external prosecutor in the case of Jimmy Lai and others inciting participation in an illegal assembly on August 18, 2019. Cheng Ruohua, the Secretary for Justice, said that she was surprised to notice that many British media attacked Perry.
Earlier, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab described Perry’s employment as “like a mercenary”.
Xinhua
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council of China, attended the official think tank seminar and named Jimmy Lai, former associate professor of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong Dai Yaoting, and former Secretary-General of Hong Kong Zhongzhi Huang Zhifeng as “extremely bad people among the anti-China chaos in Hong Kong”. “Severe punishment in accordance with the law.” The relevant speech was published on March 1 by the magazine “Bauhinia” under the name of China’s central state-owned enterprises.
NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Hong Kong District Court ruled that Li Zhiying and others were guilty of “organizing and participating in an unauthorized assembly” in the Victoria Park water-style rally on August 18, 2019. Judge Amanda Woodcock, who tried the two cases at the same time, sentenced Li Zhiying to 12 months and 8 months in prison respectively, and a combined 14 months in prison.
Li Jiachao, then director of the Security Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, announced that he would freeze Li Zhiying’s property, including his Next Media shares, worth about 349 million Hong Kong dollars (44.94 million U.S. dollars; 289 million yuan; 1.27 billion yuan) invoking the “Hong Kong National Security Law Article 43 Implementation Rules” New Taiwan dollars).
Li Zhiying and others admitted that they committed the crime of “unauthorized assembly” on October 1, 2019, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, and were also sentenced by District Court Judge Hu Yawen. Li Zhiying was sentenced to 14 months in prison, which was partially combined with the previous sentence, for a total of 20 months in prison.
The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation), established in accordance with a resolution of the U.S. Congress, awarded Li Zhiying the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom, the organization’s highest honor.
The National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police dispatched 500 police officers and detectives to search the headquarters of Next Media and the Hong Kong “Apple Daily” newspaper in the early morning; the Director of the Security Bureau, Li Jiachao, announced the freezing of the three affiliated companies of “Hong Kong Apple” and 18 million Hong Kong dollars in assets. Five Next Media executives were arrested, and the number was later increased to eight.
Due to the shortage of funds and the departure of editorial staff, the board of directors of Next Media decided to terminate the operation immediately. Hong Kong’s “Apple Daily” ceased publication after publishing its June 24 newspaper that night, and the digitized “Next Magazine” ceased operations at midnight.
LightRocket via Getty Images
In September, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Chen Maobo, cited the “Companies Ordinance” and applied to the High Court for permission to liquidate Next Media on the grounds of “public interest”. A lawyer representing the government pointed out in court that Next Media lost HK$247 million, had intangible assets worth HK$658 million, and owed employees wages of HK$120 million.
The World Press and Publishing Association (WAN-IFRA) presented the Golden Pen of Freedom Award to Jimmy Lai and the editorial staff of Apple Daily in Hong Kong.
LightRocket via Getty Images
The Hong Kong District Court ruled that Li Zhiying was guilty of “unauthorized assembly” on the anniversary night of “June 4th” in 2020. He was sentenced to 14 months in prison, but the same period as the existing sentence, that is, still 20 months in prison.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture stated that unless the liquidator appointed by the Hong Kong court appealed to the Taiwan court and ruled to agree, Taiwan’s “Apple Daily” should reject any orders and requests from the Hong Kong court and the designated liquidator, and declared that it would comply with the “Personal Data Protection Act” Restrict “Taipei” “not to transfer all personal data it holds across borders.”
When the “collusion with foreign forces” case of Li Zhiying and others was brought up in the court, the prosecutor proposed to add charges of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the “Criminal Offenses Ordinance”, involving “Apple Daily” before the “Hong Kong National Security Law” came into effect Articles published to date.
Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
After Next Media was liquidated by the Hong Kong SAR government, the disposal of assets in Taiwan fell into legal disputes. The potential buyer, Singaporean businessman Pan Jiexian, funded a new start. The digitized Taiwan “Apple Daily” (Apple News) “suspended updates”, and most of the employees switched to the new platform. So far, all media business of Next Media has come to an end.
REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
The Hong Kong High Court approved Jimmy Lai to employ Timothy Owen KC, a British counsel, in the form of “special case approval” to defend him in the case of “collusion with foreign forces”. His application was opposed by the SAR Department of Justice and the Hong Kong Bar Association, and the Bar Association appealed.
Getty Images
Zhang Jianhong, former CEO of Next Media, Chen Peimin, former vice president of Apple Daily, Luo Weiguang, former editor-in-chief, Lin Wenzong, former executive editor-in-chief, Feng Weiguang (pen name Lu Feng), former executive editor-in-chief of the English version, and Yang Qingqi (pen name Li Ping), former editorial editor Pleaded guilty to “conspiracy with foreign powers”. The judge ruled that all the defendants be remanded in custody, and the sentence will be sent after part of the trial of Li Zhiying in the case is over.
China News Service via Getty Images
The Hong Kong SAR Court of Final Appeal rejected the Department of Justice’s application for leave to appeal against Jimmy Lai’s employment of Timothy Owen KC. “, to clarify whether lawyers without Hong Kong’s full qualifications can participate in national security cases. The Department of Justice proposed to the court to postpone the trial of Jimmy Lai’s “collusion” case.