A friend of more than four decades to Jimmy Lai has lauded the Apple Daily founder – held in custody pending a fraud hearing set for April – as both a champion of democracy in Hong Kong as well as a true and generous friend, in a letter to the newspaper penned from Japan.

Signing off only as Man-man, the reader painted another aspect to Lai’s character that adds to the public perception of him as a “democracy fighter who has endeavored to guard the truth.” The letter – accompanied by two photos that have yellowed with age showing the young Lai together with Man-man’s father – explained that to his longtime friends, Lai is a “kind elder who values love and righteousness and cares for his sick, old friends, with no thought of any gain.”

When he saw the news that Lai, held in custody since Thursday, had been denied bail until at least the middle of April pending the hearing on a charge of conspiracy to defraud, Man-man said he was torn by a feeling “beyond description” that he wasn’t able to get to Hong Kong in time to be with his friend.

In his letter describing Lai’s personal qualities, Man-man recalled one occasion when Lai arrived uncharacteristically late for a dinner. It was June 16 last year. That was the day a record turnout of as many as 2 million people marched through the city to protest against the now-withdrawn bill, which would have let Hongkongers be extradited for trial in mainland China, where judicial independence and the rule of law are subservient to the will of the Communist Party.

“Seldom do you turn up late,” he wrote. “When you came back that evening, you were smiling contentedly. ’Sorry! I’ve just finished taking part in a rally! Today, there were many more people than expected,’ I remember you saying with great excitement.”

In the letter, Man-man paid tribute to Lai’s commitment to the cause of democracy in the city. For instance, he said, referring to the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, on one Sunday in 1989, several families gathered together as usual. But instead of just talking about the world, they set out with banners and headbands that they’d made based on the division of labor agreed between them.

And even after the families no longer met as regularly as they had in the past, when Man-man’s father suffered a stroke in mainland China, he recounted how Lai went to great lengths to bring him back to Hong Kong and arrange for him to stay in the best nursing home.

Man-man said that when he told Lai he hoped to repay his kindness, Lai replied that Man-man’s father had already paid it back when he was young. Lai’s kindness was something “he would never forget,” Man-man said.

“Because of the Chinese Communist Party’s suppression, Hong Kong seems to be slowly dying. But through constant resistance, the Hong Kong people’s identity is gaining more and more respect,” he said, concluding the letter: “Let us meet when we are back. Thanks, Uncle Jimmy!”

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play