The 78-year-old Catholic media mogul, who has been sharply critical of China's regime, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for "national security violations."
In the harshest ruling since China introduced new security laws in 2020, Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison on February 9. Six editors and journalists from Lai's now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper were also sentenced to terms ranging from 3 years and 6 months to 10 years. Human rights groups call the ruling a portent of Beijing's tightening reins on Hong Kong and on dissenters in general.
ABC News reported that Amnesty International called the sentence "another grim milestone in Hong Kong’s transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear."
From refugee to supporter of democracy
Lai fled China for Hong Kong, then a British colony, when he was a child in the 1950s. Starting with $1 in his pocket and working his way up, he developed a clothing business and later a powerful media empire. Unlike many Hong Kong elites, Lai was a vocal supporter of democracy, especially during the 2019 protests. He was arrested in 2020 and has been held in solitary confinement ever since.
Lai's family and his supporters are worried that judgment will amount to a life sentence for the 78-year-old, who has a number of health problems including diabetes and hypertension. His son, Sebastien, told ABC News:
"I’m sure many Americans would want to have done what my father did in standing for freedom and defending his people. And for that heroism he is being tortured and sentenced to life in prison."
In a statement quoted in The New York Times, Lai's daughter Claire said: “This is a heartbreakingly cruel sentence. If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars.”
The U.S. State Department agrees. In a February 9 statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Chinese authorities to relent:
The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case. It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
After enduring a trial lasting two years, and detention in prison for more than five, Mr. Lai and his family have suffered enough. The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.
Jimmy Lai's family hopes that diplomatic pressure from the United States and Great Britain -- Lai is a British citizen -- will convince Beijing to commit the sentence to one of exile, rather than imprisonment. An upcoming visit by US President Donald Trump to China in April may offer an occasion for a negotiated release.
Activism rooted in faith
Jimmy Lai converted to Catholicism in 1997, the same year Hong Kong was handed over to China. He had long attended Mass with his Catholic wife, Teresa, and was baptized by the former archbishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Zen.
In 2024, the Bosch School of Business at The Catholic University of America received a drawing of the crucifixion made by Jimmy Lai in solitary confinement. Blessed by Chaplain Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, the drawing is now permanently displayed in the Bosch School chapel.
EWTN News reports that a plaque below the drawing says Lai “cites his Catholic faith as the basis for his refusal to be silenced or flee to save himself from arrest.”
Catholic University honored Jimmy Lai with a degree in absentia in 2022.
