Detained Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai says there is no need to worry about him, and he wishes to read the Apple Daily newspaper as soon as possible.Lai was remanded at the Lai Chi Kok detention center since Thursday after being denied bail over a fraud charge, pending a court hearing in April next year. Lai’s children brought groceries and books for Lai on Friday and Saturday. They also brought a copy of Apple Daily on Friday, which was later returned as they were unaware that detainees had to subscribe to newspapers internally. Lai, 73, had told his daughter that he was hoping to read reports by the Apple Daily whilst in detention.

He also told his daughter that people inside the detention center treated him well and there was no need to worry about him. He could not sleep on his first night in jail, but was able to get a good night’s rest on Friday, according to Lai’s daughter.

Another item yet to reach Lai’s hands was a copy of the Bible with leather cover from his family, which was under review by the authorities. Lai’s daughter said she would bring another copy without a leather cover on Sunday for her father, who is a Catholic.

Lai’s son Ian also visited him on Friday morning, bringing groceries, snacks and four English books.

The books included “The Gulag Archipelago” by Nobel Literature Prize laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and “The Case For Democracy: The Power Of Freedom to Overcome Tyranny And Terror” by Natan Sharansky. Both authors were sent to Soviet prisons for being critical of the regime. The other two books were “The Word on Fire Bible” and “Intellectuals and Society.”

United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. was appalled by the Hong Kong government’s political persecution of Hong Kong’s courageous pro-democracy advocates including Lai.

Many Apple Daily readers have sent letters of support to Lai to lift his spirits, as some called him a “Hero of Hong Kong.”

“No fear, we have to fight on,” Lai said to his colleagues and readers via a message carried by his family and lawyer.

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