Hong Kong Media Tycoon Says City Now ‘Dead’

Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy supporter Jimmy Lai leaves a police station in Hong Kong on Dec. 3, 2014. Johannes Eisele/AFP/Getty Images

HONG KONG—When Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrived in Hong Kong at age 12, the city felt like heaven to him, brimming with hope and freedom. He arrived poor, but over the years embarked on a rags-to-riches path from a garment factory worker to a wealthy businessman known for founding the popular Apple Daily newspaper and for being an outspoken pro-democracy activist.