It may puzzle some in the West as to why Jimmy Lai, facing a possible sentence of life imprisonment on bogus charges of sedition, did not long ago flee from his tormentors, but has persisted with his fight for human rights in Hong Kong. A successful entrepreneur, he was once extremely wealthy, a billionaire with a range of business interests, including newspapers and media channels. He was granted British citizenship as colonial rule there ended in the 1990s, and he has friends and supporters across the world. A life in exile would, in theory, have been comfortable and open to him.
Instead, Mr Lai stayed in Hong Kong, and would have done so even if he had not been arrested in 2020 under the Beijing-imposed Hong Kong national security laws. They were introduced after the pro-democracy protests in the “special administrative region” in 2019, and in direct contravention of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a recognised international treaty, and assurances by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that Hong Kong would be governed under the principle of “one country, two systems”. Mr Lai is only one of many to have been persecuted under these laws, but his prominence has made him a powerful symbol of the spirit of his home. That spirit is not broken, despite the intense pressures exerted on him. His treatment has been routinely cruel, and of a type unfortunately meted out to so many dissidents. Now 78 years of age and no physical threat to anyone, he is reportedly confined to a concrete cell with little access to fresh air, in solitary confinement, and in poor health. The offences he’s accused of carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, and it is very likely he will die in jail.
