News Digest

Firebombs hurled at home of controversial Hong Kong media tycoon

The home and office of pro-democracy Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was hit by arson attacks in the early hours of Monday, police said. The attacks came as tension remains high in the southern Chinese city after more than two months of protests for free leadership elections, which ended when rally camps were cleared in December. Lai was targeted during the protests by a group of men who threw rotten organs at him and printworks producing his outspoken Apple Daily newspaper were repeatedly attacked. A police spokeswoman told AFP two almost simultaneous arson attacks were reported just before 2:00 am (1800 GMT) Monday at Lai’s home and the Next Media headquarters, which publishes Apple Daily. Police have made no arrests so far and investigations were under way, she said, without giving further details. There were no reports of injuries and images from the scenes show no significant damage to the buildings. The South China Morning Post website said that both incidents had involved petrol bombs and that no one had been injured.

This is a continual effort to try to intimidate the press in Hong Kong. This is raw and pure intimidation.

Next Media spokesman Mark Simon

Lai, 66, was a regular visitor to the protest camps in Hong Kong which brought parts of the city to a standstill from September. He was arrested at the clearance of the main Admiralty protest site in December and has been asked to attend a police station later January to help with the widespread investigation into the Occupy demonstrations. Police have promised to target the “principal instigators” of the protests which called for “true democracy” after China declared that candidates for the city’s leadership in 2017 would be vetted by a loyalist committee. Lai stepped down as chairman of Next Media in December following his arrest, citing his desire to spend more time with his family. He is still a major shareholder of the company.