Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai, who was arrested over alleged collusion with foreign forces, said on Thursday that there would be no world peace without changing China, calling on Americans to support the city’s fight for freedom, it was reported.
“If we don’t change (China), the world will not have peace,” the South China Morning Post (SCMP) quoted the Apple Daily founder as saying in a live-streamed session organised by the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a day after he walked free on bail.
Lai also warned the people of Hong Kong against radicalism and urged them to brace themselves for a long fight to resist the encroachment on the city’s autonomy.
“We’re like an egg and there is a high wall. We have to be very flexible, innovative and patient,” he said.
Lai, along with his two sons and four senior employees of the tabloid-style newspaper known for its scathing criticisms of Beijing, was arrested on Monday when more than 200 officers raided the Apple Daily offices, sparking an international backlash.
In the 40-minute live chat with the US think tank on Thursday, the 72-year-old said he did not expect the arrests to come so early, considering the “strong responses from the international community” after Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on June 30, the SCMP reported.
Lai is the first high-profile figure to be held under the new law which is aimed at punishing acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
