Activist Andy Li pleads guilty to conspiracy to endanger national security

Separatism activist Andy Li Yu-hin and legal assistant Chan Tsz-wah plead guilty at Hong Kong's High Court on Thursday on charge of conspiring with a foreign country or foreign element to endanger national security.

The case was adjourned to January 3, 2022. Both of the defendants were detained.

Li, 30, and Chan, 29, were accused of colluding with now-imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying from July 2020 to February to request foreign governments and organizations impose sanctions or blockades, or to engage in other hostile activities against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region or China.

Li and Chan were charged with "conspiring with a foreign country or foreign element to endanger national security" and "conspiring to assist offenders". Li was also charged with one count of possessing ammunition without a license after police found 232 used tear-gas bombs, 38 used rubber bullets, and seven used sponge bullets in his apartment in Shatin, New Territories, on Aug 10, 2020.

Li was arrested by Hong Kong police in August 2020 on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and later released on bail. With the help of Chan and Lai, Li then tried to flee to Taiwan by speedboat with 11 others charged with violent crimes.

The 12 were intercepted in Chinese mainland waters by the Guangdong Coast Guard and accused of making an illegal border crossing. Li and seven others were sentenced to seven months in prison. Two of the fugitives were sentenced to three and two years in prison, while charges against two minors were dropped. Li was handed over to Hong Kong police this March after he finished his prison sentence in Shenzhen.