In a Facebook post yesterday (Dec. 16), Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen talked about Jimmy Lai, translated as follows:

A few days ago, Mr. Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital, was arrested for a suspected violation of the Hong Kong National Security Law. In these several days, a photo of him, in handcuffs and entangled in a metal chain around his waist, being escorted to a Hong Kong court, has been repeatedly circulated on social media. Such an infuriating and unbearable depiction.

I have known Mr. Lai for many years. Although we have our differences in political beliefs, I have very much admired his prowess in running his business and his genuine fervor towards Hong Kong. This ordeal of Mr. Lai reminds one of the freedom and spirit of the rule of law, the things that once made Hongkongers so proud, have become things of the past.

This almost humiliating image is to create a chilling effect. The persecution of democracy and freedom by the Beijing and Hong Kong authorities reminds one of the era of Taiwan under authoritarian rule. When Mr. Lei Chen (雷震) was imprisoned for founding and publishing the periodical Free China, Mr. Hu Shih (胡適) cheered him on with a line from a poem: Thousands of mountains against the flow of a small stream. [Editor’s note: this was a poem that is often considered to be a process of freedom’s resistance against authoritarianism.]

The world had just celebrated Human Rights Day, but Hong Kong’s human rights are freezing in the depth of a bitter winter. Staying true to my insistence on the value of democracy and freedom, I want to openly voice my support for Mr. Jimmy Lai. I wish to let him, the whole of Taiwan, and the entire world, know that every single person in the world is watching this scene. It is not Mr. Lai who was humiliated, but Hong Kong’s freedom and the rule of law.

Click here for Chinese version

We invite you to join the conversation by submitting columns to our opinion section: [email protected]

Apple Daily reserves the right to refuse, abridge, alter or edit guest opinion columns for accuracy, length, clarity, and style, and the right to withdraw and withhold columns based on the discretion of our editorial page editors.

The opinions of the writers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial board.

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

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