Hong Kong's arrest of Jimmy Lai, founder of the popular tabloid Apple Daily, on charges of collusion with a foreign country, has ruffled feathers in the international community. Also arrested were Lai's two sons and several staff of the newspaper.
Lai's arrest is "deeply offensive and an affront to freedom-loving people around the world," U.S. Vice president Mike Pence tweeted Tuesday. America, Pence said, will continue to support Lai and the city's people who value freedom and equality.
The arrests at Apple Daily are a "direct assault on the press freedom" of the city, the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents Club said in a statement. The raid signals a dark new period in the decay of Hong Kong's international character, the FCC said.
For U.S. State Secretary Mike Pompeo Lai's arrest showed Hong Kong's extreme application of the law. He said China's Communist Party had "eviscerated" the city's freedom.
Taiwan denounced the incident calling it gravely harmful to Hong Kong's human rights, press freedom and democracy. Hong Kong officials must "rid the city of controversy, not people," presidential office representative Xavier Chang said.
Lai's arrest for his alleged ties with foreign nations is troubling proof of how Hong Kong authorities plan to use new national security legislation to "threaten press freedom," Amnesty International Asia-Pacific regional director Nicholas Bequelin said. Those breaking the new security rules can go to jail for life.
Hong Kong's actions didn't sit well with leaders of the European Union, Britain and the United Nations. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the arrest was an excuse to gag the opposition. The prime minister's representative said the UK was deeply concerned by the arrest of Lai and six others.
The incident was "horrible" and unexpected by many in the journalistic community, chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists Association Chris Yeung said.
But for Hu Xijin, Global Times editor-in-chief, the arrest showed U.S. sanctions didn't scare the Hong Kong government. In fact, they have only pushed the city's public servants closer to China, Hu said on Twitter. Global Times is published by the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party of China.
Some 200 police raided the headquarters of Next Digital, Apple Daily's publisher, after Lai's arrest - sealing off hallways and searching desks. There were heated exchanges with Apple Daily newsroom staff who were ordered to line up for identity checks.
Lai's Next Digital Ltd. has more than 4,000 employees and is the largest listed news media company in Hong Kong. Next Digital publishes Hong Kong and Taiwan's most-popular newspapers and magazines, according to the company's website.
