Hong Kong (AP) —Tuesday, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam is a democratization-promoting publisher as a necessary step under the city’s new national security law to keep all Chinese safe. Defended the freeze on Jimmy Lai’s assets.
Lam told reporters that the move was approved under a drastic law imposed on the city by Beijing last year, empowering authorities to “freeze suspicious assets that could undermine national security.” Told.
“The Hong Kong government is very much in dealing with national security issues, as it includes things that endanger national security, including not only the security of Hong Kong society, but also the security of 1.4 billion Chinese. It means being serious and strict, “Mr. Lam said. ..
Critics say the National Security Act is to dispel objections in China’s territory in the semi-autonomous region, and defenders are Chinese patriots whose city operators work on public order and economic development. He says he intends to guarantee that there is.
Ram is facing a crackdown on dissent, but she is believed to be acting entirely on the orders of Beijing.
Due to the freezing of Rye’s assets, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange stopped trading Next Digital shares on Monday. The company, which owns a 71% stake and was founded by its controlling shareholder, Lai, publishes the Democratization Promotion Newspaper, Apple Daily. Beijing.
Rye has been the focus of attention in the region’s democratic movement, 14 months against his role in two unauthorized rallies in 2019 in which Hong Kong residents were involved in a large anti-government protest. I have been sentenced to. Rye was one of ten people who pleaded guilty on Monday and attended another unlawful session in 2019.
Last week, the Taiwanese version of Apple Daily announced that it would move online as the “Pro-Chinese Army” blocked access to ads for its flagship Apple Daily and other publications in Hong Kong.
In recent months, police have arrested most of the city’s democratic activists and detained prominent activists such as Joshua Wong and Agnes Chow. Most of the arrested democratic activists are still detained by police, but other activists are seeking asylum abroad.
Rye has long been a unique figure in Hong Kong’s media world, by celebrities, ultra-rich people, and companies whose outlets have a nearly neutral view of politics, relentlessly chasing news about their scandals. It has been overwhelmingly dominated.
His outlets also chased awkward topics, but they were often critical of their representatives in Beijing and Hong Kong.
Not only did it avoid discussing politically sensitive topics about the mainland and Hong Kong, but what Beijing calls foreign interference with urban issues, whether or not through working with opponents. The U.S. Consulate on the passage to citizenship for holders of British National (Overseas) passports owned by many Hong Kongers has elicited anger at the establishment of pro-China in cities that are becoming more and more critical of At the offer of the UK.
The Hong Kong media is now almost completely dominated by Pro-Beijing business groups, and even independent bookstores are rare. National Security Law also gives authorities broad authority to monitor speech online, making it difficult to organize opposition rallies or even express critical views on the government or Beijing.