Hong Kong multi-millionaire Jimmy Lai: China can end us
The relative autonomy Hong Kong has enjoyed since Great Britain ceded control to China in the 20th century is facing an existential threat, says Jimmy Lai, a multi-millionaire entrepreneur from the region who founded Next Digital.
“This is not going to stop; if we don't fight and stop this encroachment, I think Hong Kong is finished,” he told Maria Bartiromo on FOX Business. “We will lose everything we have.”
Already, global credit agency rating Fitch has downgraded Hong Kong’s long-term credit rating to “AA” from “AA+” after months of protests over a new law allowing extradition to mainland China raised doubts about the region's governance.
Lai said the questions over autonomy started with the ascension of President Xi Jinping, who can serve an unlimited number of terms if he maintains authority.
“His precision is very precarious, because he [concentrates] all the power [on] himself,” he said. “That means he concentrates all of the accountability on himself – now he’s in big trouble … the economy is in big trouble.”