Police take away the owner of Apple Daily Jimmy Lai (center), 71, from his residence after he was arrested under the new national security law in Hong Kong on Monday.The owner of Apple Daily, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, and eight others were arrested early on Monday on suspicion of breaching the national security law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong police and local media said.
According to the Hong Kong Police Force, at least nine suspects aged from 23 to 72 were arrested on suspicion of collusion with foreign forces and conspiracy to commit fraud and sedition, adding that further arrests were possible.
They did not release the names of those arrested or provide further details of the charges. Hong Kong media said Jimmy Lai, 71, the owner of the tabloid Apple Daily, was among those arrested.
An aide to Lai said Hong Kong police arrested Lai on Monday, in the highest-profile detention under the new national security law since it took effect in late June.
Apple Daily, operated by Next Digital, frequently urged readers to take part in the violent protests last year.
Mark Simon, a Next Digital executive and Lai’s aide, said Lai was charged with collusion with foreign powers. He said police searched the homes of Lai and his son and detained several other members of the media company.
Two of Lai’s sons were among those detained, a police source said. Apple Daily reported that Cafe Seasons, the restaurant of Lai’s son, Ian, was raided by police.
An Apple Daily source said that other senior executives in the company were among those targeted and they were hiring lawyers. Executive Director Cheung Kim-hung was seen escorted by police out of the building.
Following Lai’s arrest, about 200 police raided Next Digital’s headquarters, cordoning off the area, searching desks and at times getting into heated exchanges with staff. Police later said they took away 25 boxes of evidence for processing.
Lai, who was arrested at his mansion in Kowloon, was also brought to the headquarters of Next Digital, where he remained for about two and a half hours before police took him away in a car.
Journalists working at Apple Daily broadcasted footage on Facebook of some 200 police officers conducting the raid.
Police unblocked Next Digital’s headquarters at mid-afternoon, with senior superintendent of police Steve Li saying that staff were free to resume their work.
In May, shortly after China announced its plan to pass the national security law for Hong Kong, Lai condemned the legislation in a series of tweets. The newspaper Global Times called the tweets “evidence of subversion.”
Lai was earlier arrested in February and April for allegedly participating in unauthorized protests last year.
Lai had been a frequent visitor to Washington, where he has met officials including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. But Hong Kong officials have said the security law, which took effect June 30, would not be applied retroactively.
Asked about Lai’s arrest, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the central government supports Hong Kong government’s action in accordance with the national security law.
（Agencies)