Jimmy Lai’s guilty verdict is a disgrace

We at Index on Censorship condemn today’s guilty verdict coming out of Hong Kong in the “trial” of democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai. Nothing about this trial has been free or fair. Indeed the National Security Law itself, which Lai has been charged under, is an affront to free speech, masquerading as justice when instead its sole purpose is to criminalise and crush opposition voices. 

Lai has been imprisoned in Hong Kong since 2020. He has already been sentenced for separate charges of unauthorised assembly and fraud, but the National Security Law charge he has now been convicted of was the most serious accusation. As a result of today’s verdict Lai, who is 78 years old and a British citizen, could face life in prison. 

Lai has a long history of being an advocate for free speech and democracy. He describes himself as having a “rebellious nature”, which he has demonstrated throughout his life. Born in mainland China in 1947 during the Chinese Civil War, when he was just 12 years old Lai smuggled himself into Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat. He launched a very successful career in the city through his role at a garment factory, and later his clothing line, before being inspired to go into the media business in the 1990s by his outrage at the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

Lai founded the media company that went on to become Next Digital in 1990. It grew to include Apple Daily, a popular opposition newspaper dedicated to free speech, in 1995. After the Hong Kong handover in 1997, Apple Daily became known for challenging Beijing’s party line, as did Lai, who emerged as a key figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy camp, which emerged in response to the increasing attacks on freedoms in the region. 

Since the ascension of Xi Jinping to power from 2012, the CCP ‘s crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong only intensified. Then on 30 June 2020, the National Security Law was passed. Speaking before its passage, Lai called the law “a death knell for Hong Kong”. Lai was arrested on 10 August of that year, as were others from Next Digital. 

Following his arrest, Apple Daily was also targeted. The newspaper was forced to shut down a year later when its assets were frozen.

Index has campaigned on behalf of Lai since his arrest. We have covered updates on his situation, published letters of Lai’s written from prison and launched A Postcard for Jimmy, a campaign encouraging people to write a brief message of support to Lai in order to boost his morale and let him know he has not been forgotten. 

Throughout his ordeal, Jimmy Lai – whose health has visibly deteriorated – has never backed down from his pro-democracy position. Preferring to be a martyr for the cause rather than sacrifice his principles, Lai is being punished for exercising his right to free speech. It is vital that his case does not go unnoticed. The guilty verdict returned in relation to these charges is an appalling breach of Lai’s personal rights and freedoms, and we will continue to condemn the decision while Lai continues to be incarcerated. Advocating for human rights is not a crime. Keeping Jimmy Lai locked up is.