International nonprofit organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has initiated a joint petition demanding the Hong Kong government immediately release pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying. The signature campaign to #FreeJimmyLai received support from 116 internationally renowned publishers and editors-in-chief in 42 countries, including Maria Ressa, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of Philippines online media Rappler, and other well-known executives from the New York Times and the Sun.
In the joint statement, Reporters Without Borders praised the 75-year-old media founder, Lai, for remaining in Hong Kong to defend the vital values of freedom of speech and journalism in the past 25 years, via his now-defunct news agency Apple Daily, despite endless harassment from the government.
