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Opinion | As Carrie Lam and Beijing tighten their grip, Hong Kong must rely on its independent judiciary
- Hongkongers must see Jimmy Lai’s arrest for what it is: a clampdown on the city’s cherished freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Equally ominous is the government’s bundling of the HK$10,000 cash handouts with more police funding
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February 28 was the anniversary of the attempted uprising in Taiwan that had been violently suppressed by the Kuomintang in 1947. Coincidentally, that was the day Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, the founder of Apple Daily and the media company Next Digital, and several former lawmakers were arrested on charges of taking part in an unlawful assembly on August 31 last year. Lai was also charged with criminal intimidation over a separate incident in 2017.
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These arrests follow those of various people connected to the Occupy movement, including the nine democracy activists who organised the protests.
Since the first major anti-extradition protests in June last year, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has ignored public opinion. More than eight months on, she still refuses to establish an independent commission to investigate allegations of police violence. Instead, she has been busy settling scores and suppressing the opposition.
The current coronavirus crisis could have been a great opportunity to heal divisions in Hong Kong. However, Lam seems to prefer to continue to treat Hongkongers like her enemies. Not only has she failed to contain the spread of the virus and caused more public anger, her enforcement units are also doing her no favours by making extensive arrests in connection with the anti-extradition bill movement.
Lai’s arrest came about a week after Apple Daily’s disclosure of a report it said Lam had submitted to the central government, criticising pro-establishment allies for not supporting her but saying she would help them win back public support anyway.
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