An image of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai in shackles is an insult to Hong Kong’s freedoms and rule of law, and does not belittle the man, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has said.

The scene both angered and saddened her, Tsai wrote on Facebook of the shot, captured by photographers as Lai was transferred from detention to a court to hear a charge under national security laws.

Tsai said her political ideals were different from Lai’s, but she admired his courage, business insights and love for Hong Kong, and gave him her support.

The Hong Kong authorities’ treatment of Lai showed that freedom and rule of law in the city had vanished, Tsai said. The insulting scene had caused a chilling effect similar to that which hung over Taiwan during its authoritarian rule, the island’s president said, adding that the world was watching.

Taiwanese Vice President William Lai also posted on Facebook, saying that the scene made people angry. He said he admired Jimmy Lai for his courage in defending Hong Kong’s freedom and human rights.

The Beijing and Hong Kong governments had broken their promises countless times, bringing Hong Kong into a dark age of authoritarianism, the Taiwanese vice president said. Freedom, democracy and human rights were undying universal values and he would echo calls by Tsai in support of Hong Kong protesters, so that they would not feel lonely, he said.

Jimmy Lai will be remanded until Apr. 16 next year, when he is due to attend a hearing over his charge of “collusion with foreign forces” as well as a separate fraud charge concerning the land lease of the Next Digital headquarters.

Apple Daily editor-in-chief Ryan Law and English executive editor Lo Fung visited their boss at the Lai Chi Kok detention center Wednesday, on the 14th day of his detention. The pair arrived at around 9:30 a.m. and left 75 minutes later.

Lai told the pair to convey his thanks to the public for their support and urged the newspaper to fight on. He was in good spirits and was adapting to life within by reading, which Lai felt was a type of training for him to acquire more knowledge, Law said.

Apple Daily staffers had no need to worry and should keep doing their jobs as “Hong Kong’s backbone” to contribute to society, Law said.

The charge under the national security law was an attack against speech and press freedom, and Lai was optimistic about his bail hearing next week, the editor-in-chief added.

Click here for Chinese version

Click here for Chinese version

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