He rose to riches in Hong Kong. Now he’s a symbol of China’s crackdown

Police officers lead Jimmy Lai away from a pro-democracy protest outside Hong Kong's Government complex in December 2014. (Image: Getty)

The Wall Street Journal

Sun, 24 Nov 2024

Jimmy Lai went to Hong Kong in 1961 as a boy smuggled on a fishing boat, a refugee who left mainland China because his mother was afraid he would starve to death in the turmoil there.He rose from child labourer to clothing tycoon and media baron, living in a colonial mansion filled with books and flowers. His Apple Daily newspaper celebrated the city’s freewheeling outlook with reviews of brothels alongside full-throated denunciations of China’s Communist Party. When protesters, Lai among them, tried to secure democra...

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