Catholic human rights activist Jimmy Lai on November 20 took the stand in his national security trial in Hong Kong, arguing in his own defense as he faces life in prison over allegations of sedition against the communist Chinese government.
Lai, 76, was first arrested in August 2020 under China’s newly instituted Hong Kong national security law. He has faced multiple trials since his arrest and has been convicted on multiple charges of unlawful assembly and fraud.
Advocates have argued that the charges are politically motivated. Lai, through several media enterprises including the long-running Apple Daily newspaper, has for years been a vocal pro-democracy voice in Hong Kong media, with Apple Daily itself encouraging citizens to participate in numerous pro-democracy demonstrations over the years.
Chinese Communist Party officials, meanwhile, allege that Lai has engaged in what they claim is seditious activism, in part by allegedly advocating for Hong Kong’s independence from mainland China.
At his trial, Lai denied allegations of sedition. “All I was doing was carrying a torch to the reality,” he told the court of his publishing activities.
“The more information you have, the more you’re in the know, the more you are free,” he said.
The publisher also denied that he had ordered the Apple Daily to continue as usual after his arrest. “I had written to them, asking them not to take risks,” he said.
The activist further disputed that he had colluded with the U.S. government in 2019 when meeting with then-Vice President Mike Pence.
“I would not dare to ask the vice president to do anything,” he said. “I would just relay to him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me.”
The trial comes after the sentencing on November 19 of 45 other Hong Kong democracy activists, all of whom received stretches of up to 10 years in prison under the national security law.
Lai is a Catholic. He converted to Catholicism in 1997 and was received into the Church by Cardinal Joseph Zen. The cardinal was present at the trial, sitting with Lai’s family members, according to the Associated Press.
His yearslong imprisonment has drawn international rebuke, including from supporters in the United States. Last December the Congressional Executive Commission on China urged the U.S. government to sanction Hong Kong prosecutors and judges if they fail to release Lai.
The trial “is a political prosecution plain and simple and another sad example of the Hong Kong government’s increasingly repressive policies,” the commission said.
Father Robert Sirico, a Catholic priest and founder of the Michigan-based Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, told CNA in December 2023 that he “[doesn’t] have any hope” that the Chinese Communist Party will let Lai walk free.
“I want to be hopeful. I love the man,” Sirico said. “I have a deep respect for him. I’m inspired by his bravery. But I know what he’s up against.”
More recently, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention said in a report that the Chinese government should “release Mr. Lai immediately.”
The working group said the government should mount a “full and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of Mr. Lai and to take appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of his rights.”
