Team News Riveting
Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai and six others were arrested Monday
under the new national security law as crackdown on democracy
supporters deepened.
Lai, who had predicted his arrest before the draconian law for the
media was enacted, one of the city’s most vocal Beijing critics. “I’m
prepared for prison,” he told a news agency in mid-June.
They arrested him at his house at about 7am, Mark Simon, a close aide
of Lai’s, said, adding that other members of the tycoon’s media group
had also been detained.
In a statement, police said seven people were arrested for colluding
with foreign forces — one of the new national security offences —
and fraud.
A police source confirmed that 72-year-old Lai was among them. His two
sons were also reportedly detained.
Lai owns the Apple Daily newspaper and Next Magazine, two outlets
unapologetically pro-democracy and critical of Beijing. On Twitter,
Simon said officers were executing search warrants at Lai’s mansion
and his son’s house.
He is among a section of Hong Kongers in a restless semi-autonomous
city facing fury from Beijing. A self-made tabloid owner, he is
considered as the only tycoon willing to criticise Beijing.
Lai’s life had been full of struggle. He arrived in Hong Kong at an
age of 12, fleeing communist China. Upon his arrival, Lai began
working as a child-laborer in a garment factory for a wage of $8 per
month. Lai’s factory work saw him rise to the position of factory
manager.
In 1975, Lai used his year-end bonus on Hong Kong stocks to raise
cash and bought out the owners of a bankrupt garment factory, Comitex,
where he began producing sweaters. By rewarding sellers with financial
incentives in Hong Kong, he built the chain into an Asia-wide
retailer. Giordano was said to have more than 8,000 employees in 2,400
shops across 30 countries worldwide.
Lai pioneered reader-centric journalism in Hong Kong. His best-selling
Next Magazine and Apple Daily newspaper, featured a mix of racy
tabloid material and news attracted
