In the words of Jimmy Lai, “freedom has a price.” That’s why the Chinese media mogul and activist is leaning on his Catholic faith for support as he faces potential prison time and continues the fight for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.
Speaking at the Acton Institute’s 30th anniversary virtual celebration, Lai, who runs the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper from the Chinese city, spoke about the opportunities Hong Kong gave him growing up as a reason he continues to fight for freedom.
“I came here with one dollar and the freedom here has given me the opportunity to build up myself. And the value that is underlying this freedom is so precious and that’s exactly what we are fighting for in Hong Kong now,” he said.
Lai was presented the Acton Institute’s 2020 Faith and Freedom Award for his work by the organization’s president Father Robert A. Sirico and chief executive officer Kris Alan Mauren. The Acton Institute is a Michigan-based think tank promoting free market policies undergirded by religious principles.
Sirico offered Lai a message of solidarity in recognizing him for the award. Meanwhile, high-lighting what it shows that he now faces a possible prison sentence.
“When you see a man like this, who is looking at a potential jail sentence in a Chinese cell it prompts in us a certain inspiration but also an awareness that socialism is resilient,” Sirico said. “The collectivism idea, the idea of dominating other people, that politics is the solution to our problems, power to corrupt. These are the challenges we’re facing this day in age.”
Lai was arrested with nine others in August for suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under a new Chinese security law. Police also raided the Apple Daily headquarters.
News reports at the time said he was held for forty hours and shown interviews he did with foreign media outlets as evidence of collusion. He was eventually released on bail.