Chris Patten calls Jimmy Lai's arrest attack on HK's freedoms

Hong Kong's last colonial governor, Chris Patten, has criticized the arrest of Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six other executives today.

In a Hong Kong Watch statement, he said the arrests and the raid by more than 100 police officers of the publisher's headquarters are a further major attack on the city's freedoms and way of life.

"This is the most outrageous assault yet on what is left of Hong Kong's free press. It will cause considerable anxiety to all who consider freedom of opinion and freedom of the press to be essential for Hong Kong's survival as an international financial hub," Patten said.

"The arrests will be regarded by a growing number of people as another large step towards turning Hong Kong into a replica of Beijing's police state."