‘Heartbreaking’ but Jimmy Lai’s ‘spirit’ is ‘strong’

Wearing a gray jacket and flanked by prison officers, pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai smiled and waved to supporters earlier this week as he entered the Hong Kong courtroom.

For his son, Sebastien, Lai’s testimony at his national security trial hearing was a chance to see, from afar, how his 77-year-old father is doing.

Sebastien Lai followed the hearing from Washington, where he has been advocating for his father’s release. Lai’s international legal team has said that the publisher has been denied access to specialized medical care for diabetes. 

Based on his court appearance, Sebastien stressed it is clear his father’s physical health had deteriorated when he said at a press conference:

It’s incredibly heartbreaking that he spent the last almost four years in solitary confinement.

He told Voice of America that it was “bittersweet” to see that his father’s mental health has remained strong, even as his physical health has worsened, adding:

His spirit is holding strong. His mind is holding strong.

Foreign forces

Jimmy Lai’s court appearance marked the first time the former publisher provided testimony in a high-profile trial that started nearly one year ago. The case was initially expected to last about 80 days. Now his legal team expects the trial to continue into 2025.

Lai is accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. The British national rejects the charges, but if convicted, he faces life in prison. Rights groups and foreign governments have condemned the case as politically motivated, which Hong Kong officials dispute.

In a more than 700-word statement to VOA, a Hong Kong government spokesperson said it was “inappropriate” to comment on the case because legal proceedings are ongoing.

The spokesperson said that Hong Kong “rejected any fact-twisting remarks and baseless smears against the legal system and safeguarding of rights and freedom in Hong Kong.”

A one-time billionaire, Jimmy Lai founded the Apple Daily newspaper in 1995. It was closed in 2021 after authorities jailed staff, raided its office, and froze millions of assets.

In court, Lai said he decided to get into the media business “to participate in delivering information, which is delivering freedom,” adding:

The more information you have, the more you are in the know, the more you’re free. The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong. 

These values, he said, include the “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion,” and “freedom of assembly.”

He told the court that he opposed violence and “never allowed” his newspaper’s staff to advocate for Hong Kong independence, which he characterized as a “conspiracy” and “too crazy to think about.”

Press freedom

Earlier in the trial, prosecutors alleged that Lai had requested that foreign governments, including the United States, impose sanctions or “engage in other hostile activities” aimed at the Hong Kong or Chinese governments.

In court, he testified that he had “never” used his foreign contacts to influence foreign policy in Hong Kong.

His plight illustrates how press freedom and broader civil liberties have declined in the city following the implementation of Beijing’s national security law in 2020, according to Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, the head of Lai’s international legal team. She said:

Jimmy Lai is on trial in Hong Kong, but journalism is on trial in Hong Kong, too.

In March, the city’s legislative body introduced a new law known as Article 23, which rights experts insisted would erode civil liberties even more. 

In September, two journalists from Hong Kong’s now-shuttered Stand News were sentenced to jail for sedition. And this week, 45 pro-democracy activists were handed prison sentences under the national security law.

Lai’s case symbolizes the broader assault on freedoms taking place in Hong Kong, according to Gallagher when she told VOA at a press conference:

His case was designed to send a chill down the spine of anyone who might want to wear a T-shirt or sing a song or post a Tweet or say anything, which might stand up to Hong Kong or Beijing’s leaders.

There are more than 1,900 political prisoners jailed in Hong Kong, according to the Washington-based nonprofit Hong Kong Democracy Council.

Diplomatic pressure will be the key to securing Lai’s release, Gallagher said. She cited August’s historic prisoner swap between Russia and the United States, which included the release of American journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich.

Political will

Gallagher pointed out that this was an example of the kind of creative thinking that is needed to help Lai, adding:

With creativity and political will, you can do what might seem impossible.

Lai’s son Sebastien said he remains “cautiously optimistic” about the prospect of his father’s freedom. “I’m incredibly proud of what he’s doing,” he said, adding:

I think he knows that he’s also doing the right thing.

Liam Scott is a reporter at Voice of America, where he covers press freedom and disinformation.

This article is republished courtesy of Voice of America. Read the original article here.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of China Factor.