Hong Kong authorities announced today that Next Media Group founder Jimmy Lai Chi-ying’s assets, including 70 percent of Next Media’s shares, have been frozen for violating Hong Kong’s national security laws.
Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said it had ordered the freezing of Lai’s shares in Next Media and “the assets of three companies he owns in local bank accounts.
Lai, a billionaire who built his business from scratch, has long been a headache for Beijing because of his media and his uncomplaining support for democracy.
His Apple Daily has been a staunch supporter of the quest for democracy in Hong Kong, including the mass protests that swept the territory in 2019.
Authorities detained Lai last year under the National Security Law, which Beijing forced on Hong Kong to stop the protests.
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