Do Americans Care About the Fate of Jimmy Lai?
One of the most courageous voices for freedom may die in a Chinese prison. How much does the average American care -- or even know -- about him?
Jimmy Lai, media entrepreneur and publisher of the now-defunct Apple Daily, which had served as a voice for freedom in Hong Kong, has been sentenced to 20 years in a Chinese prison. He was arrested in August, 2020, and spent five years in solitary confinement awaiting trial, which concluded in December, 2025. His sentence came down on February 9.
But how much does the average American know or care about this man’s fate?
Let’s first review what has transpired.
Lai’s crime, as Beijing sees it? Conspiracy to collude with a foreign country to endanger national security, as well as conspiring to publish seditious material in violation of Chinese national security laws. Lai received the harshest penalty yet under the Beijing-imposed decrees.
In other words, Jimmy Lai is in prison for criticizing the Chinese Communist Party, which has clamped down on any dissent in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai represented himself in the courtroom. He did not have a jury trial. Moreover, his trial was twice delayed due to his health issues, as he is 78 years old and in poor health. In short, he will never experience freedom again.
Unsurprisingly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian publicly declared that Lai deserved to be “severely punished.”
In addition, Beijing offered an official white paper, declaring that China has “fundamental responsibility” for maintaining security matters in Hong Kong. In reference to Lai’s sentence, the paper said:
“Hong Kong, enjoying high-standard security, is bound to overcome all risks and challenges on the journey forward, and remain as steady as a rock in a turbulent world.”
Outrage Around the Free World
The United Nations spoke out. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement:
“Jimmy Lai is a publisher sentenced to 20 years in prison for exercising rights protected under international law ….”
“This verdict needs to be promptly quashed as incompatible with international law.”
UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper called for "the Hong Kong authorities” to “end Jimmy Lai’s appalling ordeal and release him to be with his family."
In an interview with the BBC, Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, spoke out on behalf of his father, who holds British citizenship.
But perhaps the most moving expression of support for Jimmy Lai came in the form of a December letter written by Natan Sharansky to the Hong Kong dissident. Sharansky, a former Soviet dissident and political prisoner, wrote to his friend:
But note, because I remember and cherish every moment of our long conversations that we had before you were arrested, you knew then that maybe in a couple of weeks, or maybe even in a couple of days, you would be arrested, and you were preparing yourself for it. And, at some moment, I asked you: “Jimmy, but you have British citizenship and you are a rich man, so it would be no problem for you to get on an airplane and run away. Don’t you want to try to do that?”
And you answered: “I cannot do it. I will not betray my people. They listened to me, and they trusted me. I will not leave them.”
In one sense, Jimmy Lai reminds one of the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who chose to return to his native Russia from safety in Germany after recovering from an assassination attempt with the nerve agent Novichok. As soon as he arrived in Russia, he was immediately arrested and died in prison in 2024. Lai bravely refused to leave his fellow Hong Kongers and will now spend the rest of his life in prison.
Sharansky concluded:
These dictators think that you are facing a life sentence. In fact, they are the ones who will be living as slaves all their lives. One day, the people of Hong Kong, whom you love so much, will be free, and you will forever stay with them.
I’m very proud to be your friend, Jimmy. I love you. Bless you and your family. Be strong.
Natan
Support from the United States
Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced Jimmy Lai’s sentence. In a statement, Rubio said:
“The Hong Kong High Court’s decision to sentence Jimmy Lai to 20 years is an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case.”
“It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.”
The editorial board at National Review called Lai’s 20-year-sentence “monstrous,” as well as “an affront to human decency, a display of raw power, and an insult to international law.” National Review encourages US lawmakers to pass such legislation as the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) Certification Act, which would, which would adjust diplomatic and economic engagement in response to the sentence.
The United States in 2020 passed the Hong Kong Autonomy Act in response to the passage of the Hong Kong National Security Act passed by China in 2020. Donald Trump in 2020 signed the Act, which imposes sanctions on officials and entities in Hong Kong as well as in mainland China that violate Hong Kong’s autonomy, before he left office. At the signing, Trump also signed Executive Order 13936, ending preferential economic treatment of Hong Kong to “hold China accountable for its aggressive actions against the people of Hong Kong.” So sanctions and other economic measures can also help put pressure on China and Hong Kong officials.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said at X:
By sentencing Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, the Chinese Communist Party is making a continued mockery of justice and the rule of law.
Freedom-loving people around the world know that this is a travesty and cannot stand.
The Trump Administration must continue to demand that China free Jimmy Lai.
The US Catholic news agency EWTN News quickly came to the defense of Jimmy Lai, who is Roman Catholic, and is reportedly being denied the Eucharist while in prison. The network interviewed former senator and Kansas governor Sam Brownback, who also served under the first Trump administration as the US Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. He is also a Catholic.
In that clip, Brownback sounded optimistic about Trump effecting a release for Jimmy Lai when he meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But what did our president say about Lai’s sentence?
I am unable to find any comment from Trump on Lai’s February 9 sentence. But in December, when Lai was found guilty, Trump told reporters:
"I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it and I asked to consider his release. He's an older man and he's not well, so I did put that request out—we'll see what happens."
I put that request out — we’ll see what happens. Pardon me for not feeling particularly heartened by that statement.
But What About the Average American?
Readers of Into the Void undoubtedly will recognize the name of Jimmy Lai, since Nicki focuses exclusively on foreign policy and accompanying financial issues. But the average American doesn’t care about foreign policy.
Social media, however, continues to be dominated by the Bad Bunny Super Bowl halftime show. For example, in my mid-sized city, a radio talk show host remarked on the massive amounts of comments left at his Facebook page after making three posts. He still discussed it Wednesday on his radio program (no, I didn’t listen).
Please make it stop.
National news media is focused on the Nancy Guthrie disappearance and the Epstein files that have been released. Everyone wants to be a keyboard Sherlock Holmes, or find any possible dirt in the files on their political enemies, or both.
And the young Zoomers who are all about “freeing” people from oppression?
They want to liberate assassin Luigi Mangione. Uh, Jimmy Who? If only Lai were young, handsome, white, and leftist.
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In fact, I would bet if you would ask Mr. or Ms. Average at the mall or at a Starbucks just who Jimmy Lai is, they probably couldn’t tell you.
Jimmy Lai is one of the most heroic persons in the world. For speaking out against the brutally repressive Chinese government, he is languishing in a prison, likely to meet the same fate as the late Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel laureate and freedom advocate. Liu died in 2017 of cancer at 61, after spending 25 years in a Chinese prison. At 78, Jimmy Lai doesn’t even have that long.