HONG KONG (Nov 27) - Li Ka-shing, the city’s richest and most prominent tycoon, said he is getting used to “the unfounded verbal and text punches” thrown at him in recent years.

Li has faced withering attacks from mainland China and pro-Beijing forces in Hong Kong, including during the protests that have engulfed the city since early June.

After the 91-year-old billionaire in September called on both the authorities and protesters to exercise restraint, he was accused of “harboring criminality” by the Chinese Communist Party’s central legal affairs commission in Beijing.

A pro-Beijing trade union leader in Hong Kong posted a Facebook item mocking him as the “king of cockroaches.”

“In the world of social media, some people are hard at work in sowing toxic doubts and disinformation to undermine trust, ” Li told Reuters in a statement.

“It is hard not to be drawn into controversies [in] these times.”

Li was responding, in writing, to questions from Reuters for a special report on how Beijing’s attitude toward Hong Kong’s tycoons has hardened under President Xi Jinping.

While the city’s rich were courted by China’s leaders for many years, Xi has made it clear he expects them to play their part in helping the central government maintain stability in the city.

The Chinese president delivered that message to Hong Kong’s tycoons during a 2017 meeting in the city.

Asked what he thought Xi expected from the city’s wealthiest people, Li pointed to his charitable works.

“I founded a philanthropic foundation in 1980 and have given my utmost support to education, medical research and services, ” Li said.

“At the time, I have already committed a third of my personal wealth. Around 80% of my foundation’s projects are in the Greater China area. The total contributions have already exceeded HKD 26 billion ($3.3 billion), ” he added.

The protests in Hong Kong, which have become increasingly violent, erupted over a bill proposed by Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, that would have allowed for people to be extradited to mainland China.

Private wealth managers have told Reuters that the bill, which was scrapped in early September, concerned some of their clients.

- Reuters