The Witness of Jimmy Lai

H ow do you make a martyr? Just ask China.

The world is watching as China puts Jimmy Lai on trial in a kangaroo court, where he faces charges of violating “national security.” Lai, a gentle giant, hasn’t been seen in years. Instead, the 76-year-old former media mogul has been languishing in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison for defending the free-speech rights of the citizens of Hong Kong.

And yet, though unseen by even his own son for years, Lai has become the global face of conscience rights in its perpetual struggle against totalitarianism. He is a living martyr to its cause.

When Lai was a billionaire and newspaper publisher who knew exactly which way the political winds were blowing, he could have simply left China. Right now, he could be reading the news of the 44 other defendants  standing trial this week from the comfort of a luxury apartment overlooking the Seine. Instead, he is looking straight into the eyes of his accusers alongside fellow conscience-rights and free-speech heroes. Lai has been charged under Hong Kong’s national security law with collusion with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious material; he faces a life sentence if found guilty.

Though  described  by reporters as “defiant” on the stand, Lai has become best known for his unwavering faith. Lai is a convert to Catholicism, and it has been said by a biographer that his faith gives him the “strength to persevere.”

Lai’s commitment to faith is another thorn in the side of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He was brought into the Church by Cardinal Zen, a prelate who has paid dearly for his refusal to prostrate himself before the CCP and for his open criticism of the Vatican’s bungled deal with the CCP that allows the communists — not the Vatican —  to choose its leaders.

As a friend and colleague of Lai’s  said  of the pair, “Both were born in China. Both saw the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Both were persecuted by the communists, and both worked tirelessly in defense of democratic rights.” Bill McGurn, a Wall Street Journal  editorial-board member and godfather to Lai, has said,“Jimmy wasn’t jailed because his faith was against the law. But he freely accepted handcuffs and prison bars because of his faith.”

It is a story as old as Catholicism, one its despotic rivals — be it Nero or Castro or Xi Jinping — just can’t seem to grasp: You can crush the body of a man, but you can’t snuff out his conscience. For men with hearts like Lai, the harder you crush, the more you mold them into saints. Those saints, in turn, inspire and attract more followers of Jesus Christ.

Before authorities took his paper and pencils, Lai sketched religious art in prison that inspires his followers around the world. One of his drawings, an  image  of the crucifixion surrounded by flowers, was recently installed at the Catholic University of America. His art also spawned a children’s  postcard campaign  last Christmas. Of the “Postcards for Jimmy” campaign, one twelve-year-old child participating said,  “It’s incredible that Mr. Lai is able to use his suffering to create such beautiful art. I think when he draws Jesus on the cross, he remembers that Jesus suffered too, and he doesn’t have to go through it alone.”

This is the stuff of martyrs and saints, and it’s the stuff all the totalitarian muscle in the world cannot squash.

And yet, we must not abandon Lai. President-elect Donald Trump has said he can “100 percent” get Lai released from prison. It would be “easy,” he told a radio-show host. It is reassuring to see his commitment on this.

Realistically, the task of ramping up the pressure on China will fall to incoming Secretary of State Senator Marco Rubio (assuming he is approved). Senator Rubio is certainly the man for the moment; defying communist oppression runs in his Cuban blood. And he, too, is a man of deep faith.

But he doesn’t have much time to act: Lai’s international legal team and son report that his health is rapidly deteriorating, as years in a jail cell with improper treatment for his diabetes have taken a physical toll.

But it clearly hasn’t crushed his spirit.  Lai told a  packed courtroom  this week that in refusing to publish lies in his paper, he wasn’t criminally conspiring. Rather, he stated, “All I was doing was carrying a torch to reality.” “The more information you have,” he said, “the more you’re in the know, the more you are free.”

If China does make another martyr in Jimmy Lai, the Catholic Church will add another saint to its ranks.