Jubilee Post News & Views
Jubilee News Desk
A Hong Kong business tycoon Jimmy Lai was arrested on Monday and his newspaper offices raided by cops over allegations of collusion with foreign forces. The arrest is the most high-profile arrest so far under the controversial security law imposed by China.
Who is Jimmy Lai? Estimated to be worth more than $1bn (£766m) Jimmy made his initial fortune in the clothing industry, and later ventured into media and founded the newspaper Apple Daily — critical of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese leadership.
Lai’s arrest was first announced by Mark Simon, an executive at his media firm Next Digital.
He has also been himself an activist against Beijing’s increasingly tight grip on the Hong Kong. When earlier this year he was charged for his involvement in those protests, Chinese state media dubbed him a “riot’s mastermind” who “has spread waves of hatred and negative information about the Chinese mainland day and night”.
Lai has been a prominent pro-democracy voice and a supporter of protests that erupted last year. In February the 71-year-old, who also holds UK citizenship, was charged with illegal assembly and intimidation. He was later granted bail.
Police have confirmed that seven people were arrested on Monday on suspicion of breaking the national security law, but have not yet named Lai as yet. News agencies and local media cited sources saying that other senior executives of the company were among those detained. On 30 June, when the security law was passed, Lai said it “spells the death knell for Hong Kong”. He warned that Hong Kong would become as corrupt as mainland China.
Also read : Australia records deadliest 24-hours since the pandemic started
Also read : UP’s state capital rapped for COVID-19 cases
