China | Democrat in the dock

The unfair trial of Jimmy Lai begins in Hong Kong

The outspoken media tycoon will be punished for supporting democracy

Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in 2020
A brave faceImage: Getty Images
|HONG KONG

IT HAS BEEN more than three years since the police in Hong Kong arrested Jimmy Lai and stuck him in Stanley Prison. But as Mr Lai stood in court on December 18th, facing charges of sedition and colluding with foreign forces, it felt like the culmination of a much longer saga. The pro-democracy media tycoon has spent decades challenging the administration in Hong Kong and the national government in Beijing. They, in turn, consider Mr Lai a traitor and have been relishing the chance for more payback.

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This article appeared in the China section of the print edition under the headline “Democrat in the dock”

From the December 23rd 2023 edition

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