Hong Kong media tycoon and founder of the liberal Apple Daily newspaper Jimmy Lai (黎智英) released a barbed video response to a fake obituary that was published by a rival newspaper.
The obituary of Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, ran on a full page of the rival Oriental Daily newspaper on Thursday in oversized Chinese characters.
It changed the tycoon’s name, replacing one character with another that sounds identical, but the biographical details were otherwise identical to Lai’s.
It stated that Lai, 65, had died on Aug. 7 of AIDS and cancer, adding that there would be no funeral because his family members were also suffering from illnesses.
It also offered condolences to the employees of “Two Media” — Apple Daily’s parent company uses Chinese characters whose literal translation is “One Media.”
“They want me to die? Is it really that easy?” Lai said in response to the article in a self-made mobile phone video. “Sorry to disappoint you.”
It remains unclear who took out the full page ad for the fake obituary.
Oriental Daily declined to comment when contacted by AFP, and did not respond to further queries.
Lai’s office did not immediately respond to queries.
Lai and his Apple Daily newspaper, known for its critical stance on Beijing and support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, is no stranger to attacks.
The Apple Daily Web site suffered a blackout for several hours in June, in what it described as a large-scale attack by sophisticated hackers.
An Apple Daily executive alleged in a Wall Street Journal interview in June that HSBC and Standard Chartered had pulled advertising from the paper late last year after a request from Beijing. Neither bank has confirmed the report.
Concerns over media freedom have also grown this year following several attacks on journalists. The former editor of a respected liberal newspaper, Kevin Lau (劉進圖), was savagely stabbed in broad daylight in February.
Political discontent in Hong Kong is at its highest level in years as fears mount that the freedoms enjoyed in the southern Chinese city are being eroded.
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