Hong Kong ’s highest court sent tycoon Jimmy Lai back to jail as he fights national security charges, in a decision that also signaled plans to interpret provisions the Beijing -drafted law used to charge him. The court led by outgoing Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma, however, said the court planned to weigh in on a controversial provision of the national security law imposed by Beijing on the former British colony. The security law contains several provisions that lawyers say undercut Hong Kong’s English Common Law traditions, giving the government power to select judges and transfer cases to the mainland for trial. Lee said the bail decision to grant Lai bail would’ve been “relatively straightforward," if not for the national security charge against him. During proceedings Thursday, prosecutor Anthony Chau argued that the threshold for bail should be higher for defendants in national security cases.

Source: Mint December 31, 2020 11:03 UTC