Who is Jimmy Lai? Hong Kong media tycoon convicted for sedition, collusion with foreign forces

Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old, pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken critic of the Chinese Communist Party, has been convicted in a landmark national security trail on 15 December, according to reports.

Three judges found Lai guilty on three counts of his national security trail in Hong Kong city court and could sentence him to life imprisonment, as per an AP report. He has been found guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles.

Arrested in 2020 under a national security law amid the massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, Lai pled not guilty to all charges in the trail which began in 2023, as per another AP report. His newspaper, the Apple Daily tabloid, had backed the democracy movement and was fiercely critical of Beijing.

The report added that Lai's trail was conducted without a jury.

Who is Jimmy Lai? Staunch pro-democracy supporter

Jimmy Lai was born in mainland China and moved to Hong Kong when he was 12 as a stowaway on a fishing boat on the then British colony, the AP report said. Hoping for a better life, he began working in a glove factory, and in 1981 founded the popular casual wear chain Giordano.

A turning point for Lai was the 1989 deadly crackdown on student-led pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square. His company printed support t-shirts and his interest turned to media and disseminating information.

In 1990, Lai founded Next Magazine and in 1995 Apple Daily. While sometimes sensational in nature, the reports attracted strong following for its investigation and short animated video reports, the AP added. The publication was also openly critical of the Chinese and Hong Kong government and was popular among pro-democracy readers.

As per the report, in 1994, he insulted then-Chinese Premier Li Peng for justifying government action in Tiananmen and called him “the son of a turtle egg” (an offensive slur in Chinese culture). Giordano was pressured and Lai had to sell his stake in the company.

Speaking to AP, long-time friend and activist Lee Wing-tat said Lai is a firm believer in democracy, freedom and the “small government, big market” economic principle — largely shaped by his hard childhood in rural China. Lee said Lai's family suffered under the Communist Party's rule.

In the 1990s, Lai organised informal gatherings for pro-democracy lawmakers and scholars in the hopes of influencing politicians, Lee said, adding that he also joined the iconic “Umbrella Movement” pro-democracy street protests in 2014. His also made donations to pro-democracy parties and his publications urged readers to join protests.

He was also part of the 2019 anti-government protests and met with then-US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to discuss the developments linked to a now-withdrawn bill that sparked the unrest, angering Beijing, the report added.

Arrest and trial under national security law

In 2020, Apple Daily urged readers to petition US President Donald Trump to “save Hong Kong” amid China's looming national security law. After the law took effect in June 2020, Lai told AP that “Hong Kong is dead”.

Over a month later, Lai was arrested under the new law as police raided Apple Daily's building. The publication closed shop in 2021 after arrest of top executives and freezing of some of its assets, the report added.

During the 156-day trial, since December 2020, prosecutors alleged Lai conspired with others to collude with foreign forces and publish seditious materials, saying he had clearly betrayed national interests. Lai admitted he had advocated for foreign sanctions against China earlier, but stopped once the law kicked in. He argued in court that he wrote without seditious intent.

However, the court's 855-page verdict held that Lai's campaign against China carried on for much of his adult life and continued “in a less explicit way” after the law's passage. “There is no doubt that (Lai) had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years,” Juder Esther Toh said, reading from the verdict.

In the AP interview in 2020, Lai appeared undaunted. “If I have to go to prison, I don’t mind. I don’t care. It won’t be something I can worry about, I’ll just relax and do what I have to do,” he had said.

(With inputs from AP)