Hong Kong protests: activist charged under security law in city after release from mainland prison

Andy Li – arrested last summer while trying to flee to Taiwan – was also charged with assisting offenders and possession of ammunition without licence

He did not appear in court, however, as he has to undergo two weeks of coronavirus quarantine following his return from a Shenzhen detention centre

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Published: 1:15pm, 24 Mar 2021Updated: 8:36pm, 24 Mar 2021

A Hong Kong activist who was among the eight fugitives sent back to the city this week after serving jail time in mainland China has been charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law.

Andy Li Yu-hin – one of 12 arrested in mainland waters last summer while trying to flee to Taiwan – was also charged on Wednesday with conspiracy to assist offenders and possession of ammunition without a licence.

However, the 30-year-old did not appear in West Kowloon Court, where the case was heard, as he had to undergo two weeks of coronavirus quarantine following his return from a Shenzhen detention centre.

Nor did Li’s lawyers appear before presiding Chief Magistrate Victor So Wai-tak, one of the judges handpicked by city leader Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to oversee security law proceedings.

Senior public prosecutor Ivan Cheung Cheuk-kan acknowledged Li’s legal representatives were absent, but did not explain why. He also declined to identify Li’s counsel when pressed by journalists outside the court.

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