New national security law charges ‘absurd’

Today, the Hong Kong Police Force charged Chan Tsz-wah under the National Security Law and arrested the owner of Apple Daily Jimmy Lai in connection with the case.

Chan Tsz-wah, who is a 29-year-old legal assistant, was charged with “conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” and one count of “conspiracy to assist offender” in relation to helping the twelve Hong Kong youths who are currently detained in Shenzhen.

It is reported that Chan Tsz-wah holds British citizenship. If found guilty, he faces between ten years to life in prison. He was previously arrested in October 2020 alongside nine people of who were accused of helping the twelve Hong Kong youths in their attempt to escape to Taiwan.

Jimmy Lai, who is already in jail awaiting trial for allegations of fraud, illegal assembly, and a separate case relating to “foreign collusion” under the National Security Law, was also arrested in relation to the case.

Commenting on the arrests, Benedict Rogers, Hong Kong Watch’s Chief Executive said:

“The absurd charges against Chan Tsz-wah demonstrate the extent to which the Hong Kong authorities unchallenged are able to fashion the National Security Law in an arbitrary manner to fit any imagined threat.

It is a damning testament to the deteriorating human rights situation in Hong Kong, that in 2021 Chan Tsz-wah faces ten years to life in prison under the National Security Law, for the “crime” of offering a friend accommodation and lending him money.

For Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists, it is clear that Beijing is intent on inflicting a draconian carousel of court appearances and lengthy jail sentences as it moves to strangle dissent in Hong Kong. The international community must exercise maximum pressure to demand that these charges be dropped and that this intensifying repression stops.”