Hong Kong’s pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of colluding with foreign forces under the city’s controversial national security law.
Lai could face life in prison when later sentenced.
Hailed as a hero by some and scorned as a traitor by others, the 78-year-old is the highest-profile person to be charged under the law China enacted in 2020 in response to mass protests in Hong Kong a year ago.
The law criminalizes any behavior Beijing considers subversive or separatist, from chanting slogans to participating in pro-democracy protests. Beijing says it is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong, but critics say it has effectively clamped down on dissent.
Lai’s sentencing will be handed down at a later date. He has been detained since December 2020
Hong Kong says Jimmy Lai received a fair trial under the rule of law, but critics say his case shows the city’s legal system is being used to silence political opposition.
His family has expressed concerns about his deteriorating health while in detention. In August, his son Sebastian told the BBC that even though his father – a British citizen – was only sentenced to five years in prison, it was “effectively the same as a death sentence”.
Mr Lai became one of the Chinese government’s fiercest critics and a leading advocate of democracy in the former British territory.
“I’m a born rebel,” he told the BBC in an interview hours before he was charged in 2020. “I have a very rebellious personality.”
Lai is on trial for undermining national security and colluding with foreign forces. [Getty Images]
rags to riches
Lai was born in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou to a wealthy family that lost everything when the Communists took power in 1949.
When he was 12 years old, he fled his village in mainland China and smuggled himself to Hong Kong on a fishing boat.
While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing store, he taught himself English. He rose from a humble role to eventually create a multi-million dollar empire that includes international clothing brand Giordano.
The chain has been a huge success. But when China sent tanks to quell pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as an outspoken pro-democracy activist and entrepreneur.
He began writing a column criticizing the massacre that followed the demonstrations in Beijing and founded a publishing house that became one of the most influential in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai is one of the highest-profile figures charged under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law [Reuters]
In response, Lai threatened to close his stores on the mainland, leading him to sell the company and launched a series of popular pro-democracy publications, including the digital magazine Next and the widely read Apple Daily.
Amid growing fear of Beijing in local media, Lai has continued to criticize Chinese authorities through publications and writing.
This made him a hero to many Hong Kongers, who viewed him as a brave man who took great risks to defend the city’s freedoms.
But in mainland China, he is regarded as a “traitor” who threatens China’s national security.
Masked attackers have firebombed Lai’s house and company headquarters in recent years. He was also the target of an assassination plot.
But none of the threats stopped him from making his point forcefully. He was a prominent member of the city’s pro-democracy demonstrations and was arrested twice in 2021 for unlawful assembly.
Apple Daily is not afraid to publicly criticize the Chinese government [Getty Images]
When China passed Hong Kong’s new national security law in June 2020, Jimmy Lai told the BBC it sounded the “death knell” for Hong Kong.
The media mogul is known for his outspoken and flamboyant behavior.
In 2021, he urged Donald Trump to help the territory, saying he was “the only one who can save us from China.” His newspaper, Apple Daily, published a front-page letter that concluded: “Mr. President, please help us.”
For Lai, these actions were necessary to defend the city that embraced him and fueled his success.
He once told AFP: “I came here with nothing and the freedom of this place gave me everything… Maybe it’s time that I repay that freedom by fighting for it.”
Jimmy Lai has been charged with multiple crimes since 2020, including unauthorized assembly and fraud.
Lai’s prosecution has drawn international attention, with human rights groups and foreign governments urging his release.
For years, Jimmy Lai has traveled around the world to condemn his father’s arrest and for Hong Kong’s punishment of “someone who should be celebrated.”
“My father was in prison for the truth of his mouth, the courage of his heart and the freedom of his soul,” he said.
