Jimmy Lai and the Price of Defying Beijing
Jimmy Lai once believed Hong Kong’s freedoms were worth any personal risk. That conviction ultimately led him from boardrooms and newsrooms to a maximum-security prison. On a cold morning in 2022, veteran activists Raphael Wong and Figo Chan entered Stanley Prison in Hong Kong to visit Lai, the media tycoon arrested two years earlier under the territory’s national security law. The three men had been prominent figures during the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019, when huge crowds filled the streets demanding greater political rights and civil liberties. Their friendship had once revolved around long dinners and animated conversations over shared meals. Prison life, however, revealed a very different reality. Lai, now noticeably thinner, had adapted to austere routines. Chan recalled being struck by how the billionaire, once known for indulgence, now enjoyed simple food like rice with pickled ginger. The […]