[7][14][15] Kevin Lau Chun-to (劉進圖) is a journalist with a law degree who was editor-in-chief of Ming Pao in Hong Kong since the retirement of his predecessor, Cheung Kin-bor, in 2012.
[16] A colleague at the Chinese University, where he lectured part-time, describes Lau as a "mild-mannered guy, an intellectual, a lawyer, a journalist, not in any way a firebrand radical or a controversial character".
[16] The paper also contributed to investigative work with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ); this work looked into the offshore assets of China's leaders, including relatives of General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping, former Premier Wen Jiabao, and several members of the National People's Congress, and led to published stories.
[15][16][18] Chong had been former editor-in-chief of Nanyang Siang Pau,[19] and was a vocal advocate of the compulsory MNE for school children before it was shelved in 2012 amid large protests against "brainwashing".
[20] Lau had been appointed chief operating officer of MediaNet Resources, a subsidiary of the parent organisation of the journal that publishes electronic books and teaching materials.
In June 2013, Chen Ping, the publisher of iSun Affairs, a weekly magazine banned on the mainland, was beaten by two men armed with batons.
[17][18] Three masked men with knives threatened workers at Next Media, publisher of Apple Daily, and set thousands of copies of the paper on fire.
[18] Its proprietor, Jimmy Lai, a fervent supporter of the Pan-democracy camp, had the gate of his home rammed with a stolen car; the attacker left weapons at the scene and fled.
[7][8] The South China Morning Post reported that AM730, an outspoken tabloid free-sheet, suffered a concerted advertising boycott from mainland Chinese companies.
[12] Regular South China Morning Post columnist Alex Lo summarised the fear in journalists saying: "If a respected editor could be attacked in such a blatant and ruthless manner, no one in the news-gathering business is safe".
[24] Journalism organisations were outraged by the attack – the Hong Kong Journalists Association condemned the violence, and the Foreign Correspondents' Club expressed "shock" at the incident and urged the government to ensure safety of members of the press.
[15] Many saw the attack as politically motivated and part of an unhealthy trend in which the Communist Party sought to reign in Hong Kong's free press.
[7] Legislators strongly condemned the attack on Lau, and urged the police to "spare no effort to arrest the assailants, so as to expeditiously bring them to justice".
Ip Kwok-him of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong said that while he privately believed that there was a strong link between the attack and freedom of the press, lawmakers ought to be prudent as investigations are ongoing.
[26] The motion condemning the violent attack on Lau passed unanimously; amendments urging preservation of press freedom and protection of journalists were also voted through at the end of March.
The judge said although there lacked direct evidence that the attack, motivated by financial gain, was related to Lau's work, journalists deserved adequate protection under the law.