Hong Kong national security law: ex-Apple Daily publisher denied bail after prosecutors cite statements from US, UK as evidence of collusion
- The two governments had previously criticised the national security law and condemned Apple Daily’s closure
- Judge says she is unconvinced Cheung Kim-hung ‘will not continue to commit acts endangering national security if bail is granted’
Cheung is one of six former Apple Daily executives and editorial figures arrested and charged on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed security law.
Prosecutors have accused them of conspiring with media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying – also awaiting trial on security law charges – to call for the imposition of “sanctions or blockades, or engage in other hostile activities” against the city or mainland China in conjunction with other subsidiaries of Next Digital.
Provisional liquidators appointed ahead of Next Digital winding-up decision
The newspaper was forced to shut down in June following the arrests, and Next Digital is currently under investigation.
According to Wednesday’s ruling, prosecutors had alleged that Cheung maintained close ties with foreign bodies, “as evidenced by their prompt reactions condemning law enforcement actions against [Cheung], and the condemnation of national security law and enforcement actions against Apple Daily”.
A footnote pointed to a statement made by British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in June describing the national security law as a “tool to curtail freedoms and punish dissent – rather than keep public order”.
Another footnote cited remarks from the US Department of State condemning the law enforcement actions taken against the newspaper.
The prosecutors also argued that Cheung remained a director of several subsidiaries of Next Digital in Taiwan, which had considerable capital totalling in the tens of millions of dollars.
Accusing the Taiwanese version of Apple Daily of publishing “unfounded allegations” about the Hong Kong government and police, the prosecutors maintained Cheung’s ability to continue to “commit acts endangering national security is real and substantial”.
The Court of First Instance’s Madam Justice Susana D’Almada Remedios, one of a handful of judges hand-picked by the chief executive to hear national security cases, said she had taken into consideration Cheung’s “background, his associations, community ties and financial positions”.
“I am not satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for believing that the Applicant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security if bail is granted to him,” she wrote.
This was in spite of Cheung’s lawyer, Jose-Antonio Maurellet SC, arguing that the closure of Apple Daily had effectively made it impossible for Cheung to endanger national security even if he wanted to.
Since being charged between June and July, all six senior Apple Daily employees have been denied bail under the security law’s higher threshold for temporary release.
The others are former editor-in-chief Ryan Law Wai-kwong, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, and editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee.
Ex-Apple Daily executives face possible sentences after trial moves to High Court
Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung cited the security law in freezing HK$18 million worth of the company’s assets in June. Days later, the company’s board decided to shut down Apple Daily, which printed its last edition on June 24.
In July, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po appointed a special investigator to look into allegations of illegal and fraudulent activities at Next Digital, whose offices were raided in September.
Lai, the company’s founder, had previously revealed his wishes to wind up the company in an application to the High Court for a licence to exercise his voting rights, which were also put on hold amid the legal proceedings.
Less than two weeks later, the financial secretary petitioned for the winding up, on the grounds it would be in the public interest.
