Kevin Lau's recovery to take two years as press freedom row rumbles on
Kevin Lau is in good spirits, friends say, as controversy continues over whether political reasons were behind vicious chopping attack
Former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau Chun-to faces a two-year fight to recover from injuries sustained in last week's chopping attack, friends said yesterday.
The news emerged on the day a Malaysian journalist brought in to fill a senior role after Lau was moved out of the Chinese-language daily's newsroom started his new job to a flood of questions from staff.
Lau was ambushed in Sai Wan Ho on Wednesday, in an attack that left him with severe cuts to his legs and vital organs exposed. The assault, coming soon after his controversial removal, prompted international concern and a march for press freedom that brought thousands onto the streets on Sunday.
"The crucial nerves in his legs were seriously damaged from knee to toe. Lau told me that it may take more than two years for him to fully recover," said Cheung Man-kwong, a former lawmaker who has known Lau for more than 20 years. "But he is very tough."
Lau was in "good, fighting spirits", said Professor Johannes Chan Man-mun, dean of law at the University of Hong Kong, but would take a "long time" to recover. Chan said the attack on Lau, whom he once taught, was an attack on press freedom.
The head of another media group dismissed any political connection.
Charles Ho Tsu-kwok, chairman of the Sing Tao News Corporation, said Lau would know deep down why he was attacked. Ho said Lau may have written articles that had offended someone, and the attack was meant as a warning.