Groups shocked, condemn HK arrests

HONG KONG (AP) — Groups were shocked about and condemned the arrests of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai and several others and the raiding of his tabloid’s newsroom yesterday.

“We are completely shocked by what’s happening now, with the arrest and followed by the ongoing raid inside the headquarters of Next Digital,” Hong Kong Journalists Association chairman Chris Yeung said.

“With the passage of the national security law and the really tough powers given to the police in their operations, we have seen now, what we call ‘white terror’ become a reality, which will affect media organizations and journalists’ reporting,” Yeung added.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council condemned the arrests in a statement, saying that such were a tool for the Chinese Communist Party’s “political cleansing and hegemonic expansion.”

It said the law was abused to suppress the freedom of speech, press freedom and the civil rights of Hong Kong people.

Over a hundred police raided Next Digital’s headquarters, cordoning off the area, searching desks in the newsroom and at times getting into heated exchanges with Next Digital staff. What police were looking for in the building, however, was not clear.

In a tweet Lai’s aide Mark Simon said police were executing a search warrant. Next Digital operates the Apple

Daily tabloid, which Lai founded in 1995, ahead of Britain’s handover of Hong Kong to China.

Like Lai, Apple Daily has a strong pro-democracy stance and often urged its readers to take part in prodemocracy protests.