Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong newspaperman and British citizen, has spent more than 1,650 days in prison, mostly in solitary confinement. There is perhaps no greater living icon of freedom in Asia than Jimmy Lai. He was a central figure in peaceful protests against China’s crackdown on Hong Kong, protests joined by millions of the small island’s citizens. His newspaper, Apple Daily, was one of the loudest pro-democracy voices in the city until the authorities shuttered it in June 2021.
Lai is currently serving a six-year sentence for a minor lease violation. This has given local authorities plenty of time to drag out yet another persecution of this great man — this time, under the Beijing-backed National Security Law. The Chinese can’t be too worried about the outcome. According to the Hong Kong government’s own count, nearly nine out of ten people charged with offenses under the city’s national security and sedition laws have been convicted over the past few years. It’s hard to imagine they would let such a big fish get away.
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