Jimmy Lai jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong after nat. security conviction

Michie · Feb 9, 2026

During mitigation hearings last month, lawyers for Jimmy Lai, 78, pleaded for leniency for the Apple Daily founder, citing his “advanced years” and a raft of health problems.

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in jail following his conviction on foreign collusion and sedition charges.

Lai, 78, appeared at the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on Monday morning to receive his sentence – over two years after his trial began.

He was convicted in December under the national security law, which Beijing imposed in June 2020 following the 2019 pro-democracy protests and unrest.

Continued below.

Jimmy Lai jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong after nat. security conviction

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been jailed for 20 years following his foreign collusion and sedition conviction.

hongkongfp.com

Michie · Feb 9, 2026

Jimmy Lai's children look to Trump and other leaders to push China to free their father

The children of China critic Jimmy Lai say President Donald Trump's possible visit to Beijing in April could be crucial for their father's release.

apnews.com

Michie · Feb 9, 2026

Secretary Rubio, other leaders denounce Jimmy Lai’s ‘tragic’ 20-year sentence

Lai, Catholic entrepreneur and media tycoon, was sentenced over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations.

https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/asia-pacific/secretary-rubio-other-leaders-denounce-jimmy-lai-s-tragic-20-year-sentence

Tooti · Feb 10, 2026

What makes CCP members feel insecure: dissenting political opinions;
What makes common people in China feel insecure: Scams, Food safety issue, Lack of freedom of speech, Lack of religious freedom (persecution of Christians, destruction of churches, etc).

CCP = Chinese Communist Party

Michie · Thursday at 5:23 PM

Jimmy Lai’s family responds to 20-year prison sentence

Jimmy Lai’s children have spoken out following his 20-year prison sentence, detailing international support as they work for a release.

https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/asia-pacific/jimmy-lai-s-family-responds-to-20-year-prison-sentence

Tooti · Saturday at 7:48 PM

Jimmy Lai’s life story begins not with privilege or opportunity, but with poverty and hunger.

He was born in 1947 in communist China, which was marked by political upheaval and scarcity. His family lived in poverty, and from a young age he worked in a railway station carrying luggage for travellers. That's where he became aware of the relative prosperity and freedom of Hong Kong.

At the age of twelve, Lai made a decision that would define the rest of his life. He decided to leave China for Hong Kong, alone. Yes, alone, with no other family members.

He slipped out of mainland China, traveling first to Macau and then onward to Hong Kong as a stowaway hidden in the hull of a fishing boat. The journey was clandestine, dangerous, and undertaken with no guarantee of safety. He arrived in Hong Kong with nothing but the clothes on his back. No money, not even a dollar.

When he arrived in Hong Kong, Lai was taken in by an aunt and uncle who lived in a squalid squatter village in Kowloon, one of the many makeshift settlements that sprang up as waves of migrants fled the mainland. These villages were cramped, unsanitary, and vulnerable to fires and floods. Yet for Lai, they represented a new beginning.

He began working immediately, taking jobs in garment factories for wages so low they barely covered food. He slept in shared quarters, lived frugally, and taught himself English by reading newspapers and watching movies. The hardship was constant, but so was his drive. Lai absorbed the ethos of Hong Kong’s “hustle culture” — a belief that relentless effort, risk‑taking, and adaptability could transform one’s destiny.

By his early twenties, Lai had risen from factory laborer to factory manager. Then came the 1973 economic downturn, a moment that crushed many businesses. Lai saw something different: opportunity. With the savings he had scraped together from years of work, he purchased a bankrupt sweater factory. It was a bold move for someone with no formal education, no safety net, and no guarantee of success.

In 1975, he founded Comitex, a textile company built on efficiency, quality, and Lai’s instinct for market shifts. His relentless work ethic — forged in childhood hardship — became the engine of his success. Just six years later, in 1981, he launched Giordano, a clothing brand that would become Hong Kong’s first true fashion giant. Giordano expanded rapidly, eventually entering mainland China in 1992 and becoming a household name across Asia.

Lai’s rise from impoverished refugee to self‑made tycoon is often described as a rags‑to‑riches story, but that phrase barely captures the depth of his struggle. His journey was shaped by hunger, displacement, discrimination, and the constant pressure to survive. Yet it was also shaped by resilience, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks that others feared.

He later founded Giordano, Apple Daily and Next Magazine.

Tooti · Saturday at 8:52 PM

Jimmy Lai’s rise from an illiterate 12‑year‑old refugee to a globally recognized entrepreneur is one of the most striking parts of his story. He didn’t go to school in Hong Kong — he educated himself. Today, he can speak English fluently.

Self‑Education: Building Knowledge from Nothing

Lai had no formal schooling in Hong Kong, but he refused to let illiteracy define him. He built his knowledge through sheer will.

Teaching Himself English

He read English newspapers every day, even when he understood almost nothing.
He watched English‑language films repeatedly to absorb vocabulary.
He copied sentences by hand to learn grammar.
He asked co-workers to explain words and phrases.

Reading Obsessively

Lai devoured books on:

business and management
biographies of entrepreneurs
Western philosophy
Catholic writers (after his conversion in 1997)

He often carried books to the factory floor, reading during breaks.

Learning by Doing

His real education came from work:

He observed how managers negotiated and solved problems.
He learned accounting, logistics, and production by watching and experimenting.
He asked questions constantly, absorbing knowledge from anyone willing to teach him.

This “factory‑floor MBA” became the foundation of his business instincts.

A Life Shaped by Hardship and Conviction

The struggles of Lai’s youth did more than build his business instincts. They shaped his worldview. His escape from oppression, his years of poverty, and his self‑education forged a deep belief in freedom, dignity, and moral courage.

In 1997, the year of Hong Kong’s handover, Lai converted to Catholicism, influenced by figures like Cardinal Joseph Zen. His faith became a moral anchor, guiding his later decisions as a media founder and pro‑democracy advocate.

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Jimmy Lai jailed for 20 years in Hong Kong after nat. security conviction

Michie

Well-Known Member