Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Billionaire Publisher Draws Attention at Center of Battle for Hong Kong

As the world watched another mass protest Sunday in Hong Kong, many — including observers in Beijing — noticed that a billionaire publisher was again at the head of the march. At 70 years old, there is no sign that Jimmy Lai is slowing down.

Cameras captured Lai unfolding a banner and holding one end while 30-year-old Sham Tsz Kit, head of Hong Kong's Civil Human Rights Front, took hold of the other end. Others helped raise the banner as the crowd started down the streets.

Hong Kong's Da Kung Pao, widely known as a media outlet backed by Beijing, reported that Lai was urging others to keep pace during the march.

During a visit to Washington earlier this month, Lai traded his protest wear — a T-shirt, baseball cap and backpack — for a business suit to participate in meetings with high-level U.S. officials including Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Adviser John Bolton and key members of Congress.

As a Bloomberg News report pointed out, such access is usually reserved for the most senior dignitaries. The same report portrayed Lai's treatment as a defiant signal from President Donald Trump's administration to Beijing, its rival in a bitter trade dispute.

"Trump has taken a harder line than any of his predecessors in response to China's unfair trade practices," said Clifford D. May, founder and president of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). "I do think that Jimmy's meetings with Pence and Pompeo should be seen as encouraging. I think they — and hopefully their boss — recognize what's at stake in Hong Kong."

At the White House on Monday with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan at his side, Trump was asked about Hong Kong and said he had never seen protests on such a scale.

"They've been out there protesting for a very long time," he told reporters. "I've never seen protests like that, looks like two million people ... but I hope [Chinese President Xi Jinping] will do the right thing. It has been going on for a very long time, there's no question about it."

Trump also said he and Xi "are working on trade deals right now, we'll see what happens."

As for Lai's Washington meetings, Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, senior fellow and chair for Asia-Pacific Security at the Hudson Institute, told VOA that "Beijing undoubtedly will assume these meetings had the blessing of President Trump."

As Cronin sees it, Lai's visit underscored the "plight of Hong Kongers seeking to preserve their freedom and the enduring allure of the USA as a champion of freedom."

Cronin said the meetings with Lai were also valuable in their own right. "Given that this latest spate of popular protest has surprised many, it is also important for U.S. decision-makers to hear firsthand about the forces at work on the ground," he said.

Prior to Sunday's protest, Lai published a letter in his Apple Daily newspaper in which he lauded the spirit with which Hong Kong's younger generation has taken on responsibility for the territory's future. But he cautioned the young people to refrain from violence that could be used by the authorities as an excuse to crack down harshly.

'Information is freedom'

Jimmy Lai was born in 1948 in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, north of Hong Kong. He smuggled himself to Hong Kong at age 12. Asked years later how his boyhood experience had shaped his outlook on life, he said it prepared him for a latter day "dash for freedom."

Lai says he was asked during student-led protests in Beijing and other mainland cities in 1989 to make 5,000 T-shirts for the students, "and I happily consented."

At the time, he was a wealthy businessman with a chain of clothing stores. The Tiananmen Massacre on June 4, 1989, led him to turn his attention to publishing, first with magazines, then a daily newspaper known as the Apple Daily, currently published in both Hong Kong and Taiwan. He has said that the motto that drives his publishing endeavors is "information is freedom."

"It's no exaggeration to say that without Jimmy Lai there will be no organized opposition movement in HK," said Hong Kong-based journalist Liu Kin-ming, the editor of "My First Trip to China: Scholars, Diplomats and Journalists Reflect on their First Encounters with China."

Liu says that in the run-up to Hong Kong's transition from British to Chinese control in 1997, "media in Hong Kong went through a period when self-censorship was creeping in." Lai, he said, "single-handedly transformed the media landscape and emboldened the opposition."

Liu notes that Lai, over the years, has evolved from a media owner to a political leader. Lai is known to have donated some of his fortune to individuals and civil society groups opposing Beijing's attempt to exert control over Hong Kong's political and social life.

Lai, for his part, simply said, "Hong Kong is something worth standing up and fighting for."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
China Criticizes US for Vetoing UN Ceasefire Resolution in Gaza
Saudi Arabia ranks first in UN index for e-government services in MENA
Israel Records 20% Drop In GDP, War In Gaza Is The Reason
Saudi Arabia's FDI Inflows Grow with New International Standards
Venture Capitals Power Up Across MENA Region
PM Modi Announces Opening Of New CBSE Office In Dubai
January Funding for MENA Startups Totals $86.5 Million
Saudi Arabia accelerates digital economy growth through Nvidia partnership
Israel unveils tunnels underneath Gaza City headquarters of UN agency for Palestinian refugees
Israel deploys new military AI in Gaza war
Egypt threatens to suspend key peace treaty if Israel pushes into Gaza border town, officials say
Saudi Arabia Warns Of A "Humanitarian Catastrophe" If Israel Moves On Rafah
US University To Shut Qatar Campus Due To "Heightened Mideast Instability"
Facebook and Instagram Ban Iran's Supreme Leader
Defense Technology Showcase Held in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rise 2.5% to $6bn in November 2023: GASTAT
Rolls-Royce Executive Encourages Saudi Women to Tap into Their Inner 'Superhero' for Success in Defense Industry
Saudi Arabia launches National Academy of Vehicles and Cars
Saudi Tourism Minister Reveals Plan for 250,000 New Hotel Rooms by 2030
SAR to more than double eastern network passenger capacity with new trains deal
Saudi Arabia Enhances National Defense with New Partnerships
Saudi Aramco Maintains Arab Light Crude Pricing to Asia for March
NEOM Establishes New York Office to Support Investors
Saudi Wealth Fund Draws in Over $25 Billion Worth of Investments in Three Years, Al-Rumayyan Reveals
The Saudi Kingdom's Ultimatum to Israel: A Win-Win Peace with Saudi Arabia and the Arab World, or a Lose-Lose Continued Occupation and Endless Conflict
Biden condemns anti-Arab hate after WSJ opinion piece calls Dearborn ‘jihad capital’
Turkey Releases Seven Hostages Captured by Pro-Gaza Gunman
Arab Parliament Commends Women's Contributions to Societal Development
British and Hungarian Foreign Ministers visited Lebanese leaders to stress the importance of enacting UN Resolution 1701
Yemen's Houthis Say They Targeted British Merchant Vessel In Red Sea
Donald Trump Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize for 'Historic' Middle East Policy
US lawmakers approve F-16 jet sale to Turkey following NATO expansion support
Saudi Arabia Climbs 25 Places in World Bank's National Statistics Indicator
Tourism Growth in Saudi Arabia Fuels Advancements in the Hospitality Industry," Says Rotana Official
Houthi Rebels Request Departure of UN Staff from Yemen, Including US and UK Personnel, within a Month
Modi Inaugurates Hindu Temple on Site of Demolished Mosque in India
Over 25,000 Deaths in Gaza Amid Israeli Offensive
Escalating Clashes in Gaza as Israel Distributes Leaflets to Assist in Locating Hostages
Turkey's First Astronaut Set to Launch for International Space Station Today
Head of Palestinian Investment Fund Warns More People May Die of Hunger Than War in Gaza
Palestinian Envoy Criticizes UK for Alleged 'Double Standards' in Policies Toward Israel
Morocco to Lead UN Human Rights Council in 2024
Is artificial intelligence the solution to cyber security threats?
Egypt has been identified as the leading military force among Arab nations and ranks 15th globally
The AI Revolution in the Workforce: CEOs at Davos Predict Major Job Cuts in 2024
Iranian Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Receives Additional Prison Sentence
"Gazans Urge Israeli Forces to Target Hamas in Leaked Audio"
Biden States US and UK Airstrikes on Houthis Were a 'Defensive Action
Large Pro-Palestine Rally in London as Gaza Conflict Hits Day 100
South Africa Urges World Court to Halt Israeli Actions in Gaza
×