Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai denied bail in national security

Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai denied bail in national security case Steven Appleby's August Crimp: the cross-dressing crusader

 Hong Kong's top court on Tuesday ordered pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to stay behind bars as it sided with prosecutors in the first legal test of Beijing's sweeping new national security law.
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The landmark case cements the dramatic changes the security law has begun making to semi-autonomous Hong Kong's common law traditions as Beijing seeks to snuff out dissent in the restless financial hub.

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Lai, the 73-year-old owner of pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily, is one of more than 100 activists arrested under the law since it was enacted in June, and the highest-profile figure to be placed in pre-trial custody.

He has been charged with "colluding with foreign forces" -- one of the new security crimes -- for allegedly calling for sanctions against Hong Kong and China.

The security law is the most pronounced shift in Hong Kong's relationship with China since it was handed back by Britain in 1997. 

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It criminalised a host of political views and toppled the legal firewall between the two territories.

Written in Beijing and imposed by fiat last June, it allows mainland security agents to operate openly in the city for the first time, and even grants China jurisdiction in some cases.

Tuesday's judgement centred around bail.

Presumption of bail being granted for non-violent crimes is a hallmark of Hong Kong's legal system.

But the national security law removes that presumption.

Instead, it states "no bail shall be granted to a criminal suspect or defendant unless the judge has sufficient grounds for believing that (they) will not continue to commit acts endangering national security".

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Lai was detained in December and released on bail for about a week after a lower court granted him HK$10 million (US$1.3 million) bail together with a stringent list of requirements, including house arrest, no interviews and no social media posts.

But he was put back behind bars days after the prosecution sought to challenge those bail conditions.

On Tuesday, a panel of five senior judges agreed with the prosecution and ruled that the lower court judge had erred in granting Lai bail. 

The security law, the judges wrote, "creates such a specific exception to the general rule in favour of the grant of bail and imports a stringent threshold requirement for bail applications".

Legal analysts are closely watching the case for an indication of whether Hong Kong's judiciary will serve -- or even can serve -- as any kind of constitutional brake against Beijing's security law.

The judiciary can only interpret laws, which are usually passed by Hong Kong's semi-elected legislature.

During challenges to new legislation, judges balance the wording of a law against common law traditions and core liberties such as freedom of speech and presumption of bail that are enshrined in Hong Kong's mini-constitution and its Bill of Rights. 

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But the national security legislation was penned directly by Beijing and looks set to trump any other legislation in the event of a dispute.

In Hong Kong's complex constitutional hierarchy, the ultimate arbiter of the laws is Beijing's Standing Committee, which has shown an increased willingness in recent years to wade into legal arguments and make pronouncements.

China's state media have already declared Lai guilty and made clear authorities expect Hong Kong's judges to side with Beijing on national security.

Senior Chinese officials have recently backed calls to "reform" Hong Kong's judiciary, something opponents fear signals support for a more mainland-style legal system that answers to the Communist Party and where convictions are all but guaranteed.

Not all superheroes wear capes: some prefer dresses. Cartoonist Steven Appleby drew on his own cross-dressing to create August Crimp, who transforms into "Dragman" whenever he puts on women's clothes.

Appleby's first graphic novel, "Dragman", won the special jury prize at France's prestigious Angouleme international comics festival last month.

The hero discovers that putting on women's clothes makes him able to fly -- and his heart soar.

Yet he is ashamed of his secret passion and decides to ditch his dresses and accessories to be a conventional dad.

But when his young neighbour calls out for his help, it's time to slap on the makeup and save the day.

"I put things from my experience in my life in the book," Appleby, wearing deep-red lipstick, a blond wig and elegant black-and-gold dress, told AFP at his south London studio.

The 65-year-old artist said he is "relaxed about pronouns" and goes by "Steven" and "he" but sometimes also "Nancy and "she".

His studio is a warm, cocoon-like space with candles burning and music playing. There are large drawings on the wall, many of them nudes.

- Shame and fear -

Like his superhero, Appleby discovered his interest in cross-dressing when he was young, while studying at art college.

The book takes an incident from his own life when he discovered a discarded stocking in his student flat.

"I found the stocking down the back of the sofa and put it on, and I suddenly thought: 'Oh I could dress up. And then I could look like a girl,'" he said.

He found this enjoyable, but also felt "immediately guilty and full of shame and fear that my flatmates would discover it".

In another autobiographical detail August Crimp's wife, Mary, is a carpenter, as was Appleby's wife, Nicola Sherring, when they met.

They had two children together, are still married and "very good friends", while no longer a couple, said Appleby,

It was Sherring who did the watercolours for "Dragman."

The main difference between Appleby and his hero, he said, is that "I told her I like to dress in women's clothes when we first met.

"She didn't mind and then we would go shopping for clothes," he added.

"Eventually she realised... as well as being a fun thing it was also an obsession and that became more difficult."

The couple still lives in the same house along with Sherring's new partner and they raised their children together.

"Nicola is an amazing person... because she's able to allow that situation," he said.

Despite his supportive family, it took a long time for him to accept his identity. He took the plunge around 13 years ago, since when he has only dressed as a woman.

"I think it was fear that stopped me, fear of embarrassing my children," he said. But in fact they "didn't really notice".

- 'Be true to your own style' -

Appleby came up with the idea for "Dragman" in 2002 and began drawing a comic strip in The Guardian daily.

At the time he was still not "out" as a cross-dresser and said the strip was "a way for me to playfully put it into the world without sort of saying 'I am a transvestite'".

After the novel "Dragman" came out, Appleby received messages of thanks from other cross-dressers.

"One sent me a message saying that he just told his wife that he liked to wear women's clothes," he said, adding that the response was positive.

But he never told his parents. His mother was Canadian and met his English father during World War II.

He grew up in an old vicarage in Northumberland in northeast England, going to boarding school, then art college, he dropped out for two years to play keyboards in a rock group called Ploog.

"All in all it was a disaster but it was fun," he said.

At the Royal College of Art in London, he was taught by Quentin Blake, who famously illustrated Roald Dahl's children's books.

Blake's advice was to be "true to your own style".

"Dragman" is Appleby's ironic take on the superhero comics he enjoyed reading as a child, particularly "Batman".

"And I think 'Catwoman' had an influence on my dressing up," he added with a cherry-lipped smile.