What is ‘I want laam chau’? Crowdfund group linked to Hong Kong arrests of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai and others under national security law
- Officers investigating group that called for Hong Kong to be sanctioned by foreign countries
- Group believed to have received substantial financial support from overseas bank accounts
Former student activist Agnes Chow Ting and two others arrested were also allegedly involved in the group, which, according to sources, is called “I want laam chau”, a Cantonese expression meaning “embrace and fry” that sums up the popular protest slogan: “If we burn, you burn with us.”
Force insiders said police were pursuing the six for alleged activities that took place after the enactment of the law late on June 30, and that the legislation was not being used retroactively.
The laam chau group’s most recent action was the launch of the “Rise From the Ashes” crowdfunding campaign on May 27, more than a month before the Beijing-drafted national security law on Hong Kong came into force – though the central government had by then indicated it would impose the legislation.
As of Tuesday, more than 17,900 donations had been made to the campaign, accounting for 96 per cent of the group’s US$1.75 million goal. The group had vowed to use the funds to support a range of initiatives for the coming two years, as well as a video production and two print advertisements in the United States or Britain if the goal was met.
But barrister Anson Wong Yu-yat warned that those running the platform – which is still receiving donations – were at high risk of being seen as funding or supporting overseas activities that could endanger national security.
Lai, his 39-year-old son Ian Lai Yiu-yan, and Royston Chow Tat-kuen, 62, the chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the newspaper’s parent company, Next Digital, were arrested on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
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Hong Kong opposition activist Agnes Chow swept up in Hong Kong arrests under security law
Former student activist Agnes Chow and two others accused of the same crime were also picked up in another swoop in the afternoon.
The other two arrested were Wilson Li Chung-chak, a freelancer for ITV and former member of the disbanded student activist group Scholarism, and Andy Li, a member of the Election Observation Mission, which was set up to monitor last November’s district council elections.
A police source said Chow and the two activists were suspected of being involved with the online group.
“The others were suspected of offering financial support to the group through overseas bank accounts,” the source said, adding that Lai’s top aide, Mark Simon, who was not in the city, was also wanted by police.
“The group has been set up for about one year, but police are pursuing its activities that took place after the new legislation took effect [on June 30].”
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“I want laam chau” emerged in the early days of the anti-government protests last year and made their debut on Reddit-like site LIHKG on June 11, launching a campaign calling on countries including Britain, the United States and Australia to strip the city’s pro-establishment politicians and officials of their foreign passports.
The group, which advocated a scorched-earth mentality that later became popular among protesters but touched the nerve of authorities, was seen by some as a key opinion leader in the seemingly leaderless movement, even though the identities of its members had remained unknown.
Members ran an opinion piece in the Financial Times, launched an advertising campaign in seven media outlets in Britain that focused on the country’s obligation to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, held flash-mob protests in London and also lobbied members of parliament there.
Following the passage of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act in the United States, the team also collaborated with the Hong Kong Higher Institutions International Affairs Delegation in December to come up with a 120-page report that listed officials and pro-Beijing politicians that they said should be sanctioned for eroding human rights in the city.
Where does the Apple Daily raid fit in with other national security arrests?
Meanwhile, localist activist Ventus Lau Wing-hong, who had co-founded the Civil Assembly Team that collaborated with the group in organising marches in several cities calling for international sanctions in January, said he expected police to come for him soon.
“Apparently the latest round of arrests are targeting those who worked on the international lobbying front in the past year,” he said, accusing police of trying to create a deterrent effect in society through the high-profile operation. “I cannot worry too much.”
The laam chau group, Lau said, had played a significant role in the anti-government protests. In the past, international lobbying efforts had been dominated by politicians or political parties, but the team had proven that even grass-roots groups could also step in, he said.
Lau added that members of the group were all over the world. “It was impossible for police to go after all of them.”
Monday’s police operation also saw Jimmy Lai’s elder son, Timothy Lai Kin-yang, 42, arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, as were Next Digital CEO Cheung Kim-hung, 58, chief administrative officer Wong Wai-keung, and Next Media Animation director Kith Ng Tat-kong. Royston Chow and Jimmy Lai himself were also accused of the same offence.
The fraud allegation related to an investigation that was launched after some pro-Beijing groups accused Lai of using the offices of Next Digital to provide secretarial services, which could be a breach of land-lease terms and amount to providing false information to the Lands Department to evade rent.
Additional reporting by Natalie Wong
