On this early gray and cold morning of December 18, an armored van escorted by an impressive procession heads towards the West Kowloon courthouse, a modern building protected by dozens of police officers equipped with bulletproof vests and heavy weapons. and sniffer dogs. City authorities even deployed a riot control vehicle and a bomb disposal van. As if press boss Jimmy Lai, fervent defender of democracy in Hong Kong, was a dangerous terrorist.
Light gray jacket over blue shirt, the billionaire with shaved hair appears in the dock, flanked by three agents, behind a glass wall. Thin, but calm and smiling, he gestures to his loved ones in the crowded room, where there are his wife and three of his children, as well as his friend, Cardinal Joseph Zen, who baptized him in 1997 and made him meet the pope.
Articles critical of the Chinese Communist Party
Prosecuted for “collusion with foreign forces” and publication of “seditious” articles, this 76-year-old man, described by Beijing as a “traitor” and “a notoriously anti-Chinese element”, could end his life in prison. He is currently being tried under the implacable national security law imposed by the communist power in the summer of 2020 to bring the former British colony into line, after the monster demonstrations of 2019. Incarcerated for more than three years, he is subjected to solitary confinement twenty-three hours a day, with only fifty minutes in the open air.
The government of the semi-autonomous territory, now entirely under the control of Beijing, accuses Jimmy Lai of having encouraged the pro-democracy movement of 2019, publishing articles criticizing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in its daily Apple Daily (the largest Chinese-language opposition media, now closed) and called on the United States to impose sanctions against China. He is also accused of having met former US Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019 to denounce an extradition law – since withdrawn.
The sentence handed down against one of the most eminent symbols of resistance in Beijing, who pleaded “not guilty”, risks being extremely severe – twenty years in prison, or even life imprisonment. “Jimmy Lai’s trial could be used by the Chinese government to make an example. It’s about ‘killing the chicken to scare the monkeys’: in other words, sending a warning to all pro-democracy activists,” explains political scientist Willy Lam.
A bird prefers to “die singing”
By dint of defying the communist regime – a “monopoly which charges a high price for mediocre service” – the tycoon has become public enemy No. 1 in Hong Kong. Especially since he plays on several tables. “As a press boss, he embodies freedom of expression, but he is also a businessman who has proven that one can succeed without having to bow down to the PCC,” summarizes his third son, Sébastien , 29 years old, small round glasses, who tries to mobilize the international community.
In 2020, when the Chinese grip tightens on the financial megalopolis, this father of six assures that he is not afraid of prison. “If you are a bird, you would rather die singing than remain silent,” he says. “Jimmy Lai, who is very rich, has British citizenship and connections in the United States, could have left Hong Kong and lived comfortably abroad. But he was determined to sacrifice his freedom to support democracy,” greets Willy Lam.
Question of consistency. “I can’t cause trouble and then escape. [juste après]”, he joked. Jimmy Lai draws his strength and impressive serenity from his Catholic faith. Quite a symbol, he converted in 1997, the year Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule. “China was then in full boom: its business could have benefited from it. Instead, he risked losing everything by confronting the CCP because he believed the cause was just. He chose the most difficult path, and religion gave meaning to his trajectory,” continues Sébastien, who says he is “extremely proud” of his father.
The entire life of this autodidact, whose story is a true myth in Hong Kong, has been a struggle. From his childhood, his destiny was impacted by the CCP. In the middle of Maoist China, his father, a rich businessman from Canton, is robbed of his property and forced into exile. Her mother is sent to a labor camp. Abandoned to his fate, Jimmy left school very early and at the age of 9 became a baggage porter at the Canton station. An elegant traveler from Hong Kong one day gives him a chocolate bar, which he finds delicious. It’s decided, he’ll go there!
The start of the Tiananmen movement
At the age of 12, while a terrible famine was gripping China, he clandestinely boarded a fishing boat to reach the then British “Pearl of the Orient”. The young refugee joined a wool glove factory as a worker, where he climbed the ranks. After learning English, he created his own company, Giordano, a clothing chain which was immensely successful in Asia and made his fortune.
But Jimmy Lai is not satisfied with being an admired businessman. The political turning point took place in 1989. He mobilized to support the Tiananmen Square movement, distributing T-shirts flocked with slogans supporting the students. After the shock of the June 4 massacre, he decided to launch a newspaper to defend democracy: first the magazine Next, in 1990, then the daily Apple Daily, in 1995. The format of this color tabloid, which mixes sensational articles, investigations and anti-communist criticism, hits the mark. “Before him, journalists were very close to the political system. He was the first to question the CCP and local elites, and to publish a popular newspaper, with photos and accessible writing,” summarizes his son.
The intrepid boss notably insults Prime Minister Li Peng, who had ordered the bloody repression of Tiananmen Square. Beijing responds by closing its Giordano boutiques, which are very present in mainland China. The founder is forced to sell his shares. At the same time, advertisers are turning away from its publications to avoid reprisals. Having become the black beast of Beijing, he is several times the victim of attacks or intimidation. In 2015, two masked men threw Molotov cocktails at his home.
But nothing stops the activist, present among the demonstrators during the “umbrella revolution” of 2014, then during the marches of summer 2019. He will be arrested, handcuffed, on various occasions before being imprisoned, and the premises of theApple Daily will be searched by some 500 police officers. Proof of the attachment of 7.5 million Hong Kongers to the title, the last edition, on June 24, 2021, sold 1 million copies.
Today, Jimmy Lai pays dearly for his audacity. “I have the greatest respect for his courage,” comments Willy Lam. “But he may have shown a certain naivety in thinking that America could push China back and in underestimating Beijing’s determination to take revenge. from him.” The trial, which could last around eighty days, confirms the spectacular deterioration, under the influence of Beijing, of the Hong Kong judicial system – long a model of independence – and the stifling of local freedoms. 47 pro-democracy activists, tried last year in the name of this same national security law, are still awaiting a verdict.
In the absence of a jury, the verdict of the three judges appointed by the authorities seems decided in advance. Especially since the people testifying against Jimmy Lai, including former collaborators, are also indicted and awaiting trial. “One can reasonably be suspicious of a case that relies entirely on the testimony of people who, for the most part, have made deals with the prosecution, not to mention that some of them are likely to have been mistreated”, points out Jonathan Price, member of Jimmy Lai’s international defense team – victim of death threats and continuous online harassment. A key witness in the trial was thus forced to provide evidence under torture during his detention in China, a UN special rapporteur has warned. The United Kingdom and the United States have officially called for the release of Jimmy Lai. His supporters fear that he will fall into oblivion once convicted. The bird now sings alone in its cage. Sad news for Hong Kongers.
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