National security law: Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai person pulling strings behind multimillion-dollar sanctions conspiracy, court hears
- Jimmy Lai and assistant Mark Simon directly invested at least HK$13.7 million in scheme aimed at forcing government to accede to protesters’ demands, court told
- Prosecutors make allegations at national security trial of two activists who admitted to colluding with foreign forces
The High Court heard on Thursday that Lai and his assistant, Mark Simon, had directly invested at least HK$13.7 million (US$1.7 million) in a scheme aimed at forcing the local government to accede to protesters’ demands stemming from the 2019 social unrest and even toppling the Chinese Communist Party.
Activist Andy Li Yu-hin, 30, admitted that he had engaged in an anti-Chinese campaign since the summer of 2019 under Lai’s instruction to attract “international sanctions, a blockade or other hostile activities” against the Beijing and local governments.
The activist, who spent seven months behind bars in mainland China after he was caught at sea during a bid to flee to Taiwan last summer, was brought to court amid a heavy police presence and stood before a judge hand-picked by the city’s leader to handle national security cases.