It's difficult to find information on Google because vague terms like "pro-democracy" are used leaving the readers to imagine what it means.

I got what I told you from this Reuters article: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/national-security-trial-hong-kong-pro-democracy-tycoon-postponed-next-sept-2022-12-13/

If you're pro-democracy in an authoritarian state you kind of have to collude with foreign democracies.

With limited information, knowing what we know about the Chinese government, I know I sure ain’t giving them the benefit of the doubt here

Edit: interesting to see which way this sentiment swings the votes here

Literally ran a newspaper which espoused democracy and independent governance (Hong Kong status quo at the time).

You might also be interested to learn that democratically elected legislators in Hong Kong were arrested en masse from the floor of their legislative building for the exact same reason. It's as bad as it sounds.

He published newspapers. He was a newspaper publisher.

There's no free speech in China. Publishing a newspaper that doesn't follow the line of the Chinese Communist Party is a crime, and after the CCP took control over Hong Kong that applied to him as well.