HONG KONG media tycoon Jimmy Lai was charged with fraud and detained today for illegally using his company’s premises for purposes outside the remit of its lease. 

A court denied him bail over the charge and he will remain in custody until a hearing in April. 

Mr Lai was arrested under the National Security Law earlier this year for taking part in protests and later released on bail.

The new security law aims to return stability to the territory after a year of unrest, according to Chinese authorities. 

But critics have said it has silenced dissent and is part of a crackdown on the city’s activists and media figures.

Mr Lai was arrested on Wednesday night along with two other senior executives from his company Next Digital, which publishes Apple Daily, a tabloid frequently critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership.

While the two senior executives were granted bail, Mr Lai’s was denied because he was deemed an absconding risk, according to local reports.

Meanwhile, China accused the United States government today of “an escalation of political suppression” against Beijing, following reports of new visa restrictions on members of the Communist Party and their immediate family members. 

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said China would “make representations” to the US about how visas will be limited to one-month, single-entry permits.

Ms Hua called Washington’s approach “totally inconsistent with the US’s own interests,” and said it would damage its global image.

Chinese students, who make up the largest group of foreign students at US universities, have already complained of tougher conditions for obtaining or extending visas, as have academics and journalists. 

The restrictions would be the latest of many measures taken against China’s leadership by the US.