Jimmy Lai is a billionaire media mogul and prominent activist for democracy. He was sentenced in Hong Kong to 20 years behind bars in the highest-profile case of national security since Beijing implemented sweeping laws on security in the territory.
The British national, aged 78, was found guilty in December of charges including sedition and conspiring to collide with foreign forces. These offences carry the potential for life imprisonment.
The defendant pleaded guilty to none of the charges.
This sentencing is the culmination of an years-long legal, political and social saga. Critics say it reflects Hong Kong’s transformation into a city where the Chinese Communist Party controls dissent.
Jimmy Lai: From refugee to businessman
Lai’s story started far away from headlines and courtrooms.
He began working in the garment industry as a child worker when he fled Mao’s China at 12 years old.
He built an empire from humble beginnings. First, with Giordano the giant retail company. Later with a conglomerate of media that earned him the nickname ‘Rupert Murdoch’.
He fled Maoist China at the age 12 when he entered the fishing boat’s hold. Hong Kong was the place that he imagined to be “heaven”, after an English colonial traveller had given him a bar of chocolate.
He said, “the moment I felt freedom was a high that I’ve never experienced again.”
He worked in a clothing factory and rose from the floor of the factory to become a manager.
In 1981, as Hong Kong’s economy grew, he created his own empire. He founded the Giordano casual apparel chain and became one of Hong Kong’s most prominent entrepreneurs.
Kevin Yam (an Australian-Hong Kong attorney) said in an article published by the Guardian last year that “the trajectory of his career reflects Hong Kong’s history.”
Lai, formerly a young worker in a factory that made gloves, has transformed into an entrepreneur who sells clothing.
Hong Kong was a hub of global commerce, where opportunity and ambition often met.
Lai had ambitions that went beyond his business.
Beijing’s turning point and its entry into the media
Lai attacked Li Peng in his Chinese language magazine Next, calling him “wang bakdan”, which is roughly translated as “bastard”.
Beijing’s response was severe and swift. Giordano shops in mainland China have been closed and all advertising has been banned.
Faced with mounting pressure, Lai decided to sell his majority stake in Giordano, and pivot decisively towards publishing. He reportedly made $280 million off the sale.
He entered an eager media market, but one that was anxious over the impending transfer of Hong Kong from British rule to Chinese.
His company Next Digital became the biggest listed media company of Hong Kong in the 1990s.
He launched Apple Daily in 1995. The newspaper shaped Hong Kong’s media landscape by combining tabloid style, celebrity gossip, and fearless investigations.
It was described by one academic as “a bizarre hybrid of seriousness and frivolity”.
It soon set the agenda and was controversial. The paper thrived for many years until Beijing intensified its crackdown against dissent in 2021.
The judges concluded that Lai had used Apple Daily as a platform to demand international sanctions against China, Hong Kong and China.
More than 12 Hong Kong officials and Chinese government officials were sanctioned by the United States.
According to Mark Clifford, Lai’s longtime partner, Lai had a net worth of $1.2 billion at the time his arrest took place in 2020.
Crackdown on dissidents
Press freedom activists have been outraged by his sentencing.
Jodie Ginsberg is the chief executive officer of Committee to Protect Journalists. She said: “The rule-of-law has completely been shattered” in Hong Kong.
The egregious ruling of today is the last nail in Hong Kong’s coffin when it comes to freedom of press. If we are to see press freedom respected around the globe, then international pressure must be increased to release Jimmy Lai.
John Lee, the leader of Hong Kong, condemned Lai harshly.
He said that Lai had used Apple Daily “to poison the minds” of the citizens. This included inciting hatred, distorting facts, creating social divisions, glorifying violence and asking external forces for sanctions against China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Geopolitics spills over into a case
Lai’s future is not just a matter of law. This has now become a global issue.
He has fans in the UK as well as the US.
Members of Washington’s Christian Right and lawmakers from both parties have been pressing for his freedom. Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to free Lai.
He said he made a request to Chinese President Xi Jinping last year to release him.
US legislators have described the ruling as a test to see if Beijing is committed to fulfilling its commitments in Hong Kong.
John Moolenaar is chairman of House Select Committee on China. He said, “The sentencing Jimmy Lai represents the latest stain on China’s human rights record and the farce that its promises to support one country with two systems” are.
Lai was also linked to the US-China relationship, he said. He said that if General Secretary Xi wanted to improve relations with the United States he should start by freeing Jimmy Lai.
The UK Government has also taken the matter to the highest level.
Foreign Secretary Yvette cooper said that the British Prime minister discussed Lai’s case directly with Xi Jinping.
We stand by the people of Hong Kong and we will honor the historic commitments that were made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which is legally binding. “China must follow suit,” said she.
Beijing rejects foreign criticism. Lin Jian said that Lai’s situation was an internal issue.
He said that he urged the relevant countries to respect China’s sovereignty, and also adhere to Hong Kong’s rule of law. They should not be irresponsible in their remarks regarding Hong Kong’s court proceedings.
Lai’s sentencing is likely to be another point of friction between China and Western countries, along with disputes about trade, technology, and Taiwan.
Denny Roy is Senior Fellow of the East-West Center which works to promote better relationships and understanding between the US and Asia, and Pacific nations, as he stated in a report by the International Bar Association in January.
First, Lai’s conviction for collusion in hostile forces highlights the paranoia of the CCP of the Xi era over the subversive powers of Western liberal ideologies. He said that under these conditions, China could do business with Western countries but not be their friends.
Roy’s comment is especially pertinent, as Western countries, such as the UK and Canada are seeking to recalibrate their relationship with China in order to increase economic opportunities.
He said: “The ruling in Jimmy Lai’s case confirms the fact that Hong Kong cannot be distinguished from China […]. It’s a major blow to hope for democracy spreading in mainland China.”
The importance of the sentence for Hong Kong’s business confidence
Hong Kong’s business community is feeling the impact of this verdict, which goes beyond politics and diplomacy.
David Roche, a veteran investor who has been in business for over 30 years, suggested that an ambiguous verdict could have restored the confidence of the public in the city.
He told CNBC that “that would give people who are in the financial business the overwhelming impression, and thus conviction, that Hong Kong has returned to its dynamic, normal self, which is business-driven.”
Analysts say that the sentence instead reinforces the doubts regarding the independence of Hong Kong’s institutions.
Andrew Collier of the Harvard Kennedy School described the decision as being damaging to foreign investors.
After the verdict in December, he told CNBC that “people want an independent system of courts to protect both the rights and financial interests of the citizens.”
He said that the confidence of investors could continue to erode. Collier said that if investors were not confident in the courts, they would not be able to invest.
Experts in the legal field have expressed similar concerns. Baroness Kennedy of Doughty Street Chambers, London, said that the case could cause companies to rethink their presence in Hong Kong.
She said that in an International Bar Association report, “business interests are not necessarily protected by Hong Kong.”
She said that lawyers for corporations should review whether the rights of their clients will be protected in the manner they anticipate.
Eric Lai is a senior fellow in the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University. He warned that Hong Kong’s reputation as a financial center was being undermined by the loss of freedoms.
In a CNN article, he stated that “a credible financial hub must have a free flow of data to ensure a transparent investing environment.”
He added: “With the closure of critical media and their criminalisation, and with open discussions on policy matters and critical issues between foreign policymakers and officials being criminalized, information and ideas are severely compromised, and there is a serious threat to free speech and exchanges of opinions.”
He also argued Beijing’s priorities were clear. He said that it had nothing to do “with press freedom” because Beijing prioritized the security of its regime over the freedom to express sharp criticisms.
As new developments unfold, this post Jimmy Lai’s rise and fall: What it means for Hong Kong’s economic status and geopolitics will be updated.
