(p. A11) Hong Kong If Chinese soldiers crush Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, there’s little doubt media tycoon Jimmy Lai will be high on their wanted list. His Apple Daily newspaper and Next magazine cheer on the movement for universal suffrage. He bankrolls the city’s pro-democracy political parties, as financial records stolen by hackers show. The government-owned media accuse him of fomenting a “color revolution” at the behest of the American government. . . .
But Mr. Lai’s activities this week are not hard to track. From about 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., he sits in the protesters’ encampment outside the main government offices. Most of the time he can be found at one of the makeshift supply pavilions labeled “materials stand,” chatting with students or listening to speeches.
On Friday morning, I find Mr. Lai at the encampment reading essays by Japanese film director Yasujiro Ozu, and we walk to a nearby food court to chat. Two photographers from a pro-Beijing newspaper conspicuously record our meeting.
For the full interview, see:
HUGO RESTALL. “Hong Kong’s Billionaire Democrat; Despite threats and smears from Beijing, Jimmy Lai talks about his support for student protesters in Hong Kong and why they might succeed.” The Wall Street Journal (Sat., Oct. 4, 2014): A11.
(Note: italics in original; ellipsis added.)
(Note: the online version of the interview has the date Oct. 3, 2014.)