On February 26, 2025, under a chilling, drizzling sky, a courtroom drama unfolded inside the High Court of Hong Kong in Admiralty.
The accused, Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, a renowned pro-democracy figure in Hong Kong, standing trial on multiple high-stakes charges including alleged "National Security Law violations" and "Unlawful Assembly," was asked by the prosecution whether Mr. Lai wanted to "get rid of the CCP [the Chinese Communist Party]." Lai's response was unequivocal: "No. Only the Chinese people can get rid of the CCP. We are Hong Kong people."
At this point, Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping interjected: "We are Chinese."
Lai stood his ground: "We are Hong Kongers because of 'One Country, Two Systems.'"
Judge Toh pressed further: "Is your skin yellow, Mr. Lai?"
Lai countered: "Because my skin is yellow, I'm identified as Chinese?"
Judge Toh reinforced her position: "You are Chinese."
Lai's response was firm and unwavering: "No, I am a Hong Konger."
Jailed pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is Hong Kong businessman and politician. "The founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper stands accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition under Beijing's national security law. He rejects the charges, which press freedom groups have decried as politically motivated.... Sebastien Lai, the son of Jimmy Lai, has consistently voiced concern about his father's health. The elder Lai has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020. 'His health has gotten much worse, as you can expect when you put a 77-year-old man in solitary confinement for four years. But his spirit is holding strong. His mind is holding strong,' Jimmy Lai's son Sebastien Lai said..." (December 17, 2024)
Perhaps for the first time in Hong Kong's modern legal history, a person's skin color had been explicitly invoked as a determinant of political identity in court. In a city celebrated for its fusion of East and West, this exchange sent shockwaves through many who identify first and foremost as Hong Kongers.
Jimmy Stood Resolutely As A "Hong Kong Person," Rejecting The Notion That He Was "Owned" By The CCP
In an exclusive MEMRI interview, Mark Simon, the American businessman and former senior executive at Next Digital, the media company founded by Jimmy Lai, explained why this exchange resonated profoundly with the people of Hong Kong: "What really shocked me was here is an English laws educated judge wearing a funny wig, basically stealing another culture you could say, you know, the British culture. And she's up there telling a guy you're Chinese. She's parroting a line of the CCP, which they tell Chinese all over the world: You're Chinese. We own you."
As a long-time confidant and senior aide to Jimmy Lai, Mark Simon viewed this moment as emblematic of Lai's unwavering defiance. Jimmy stood resolutely as a "Hong Kong person," representing "Hong Kong people," firmly rejecting the notion that he was somehow "owned" by the CCP or obligated to submit to "Mother China." Mark believed Jimmy was fundamentally challenging the judge's underlying assumption – that having yellow skin meant being inherently Chinese, and thus obligated to obey and conform to CCP rule.
Mark Simon, the American businessman and former senior executive at Next Digital, the media company founded by Jimmy Lai.
A Rags-to-Riches Tycoon
Born on December 8, 1947, in Guangzhou, China, Jimmy Lai is a distinguished Hong Kong entrepreneur, media mogul, and pro-democracy activist. He is famed for founding Giordano, a highly successful clothing retail chain, and Next Digital, the company behind the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. Lai's outspoken advocacy for democracy and steadfast criticism of the CCP have solidified his influential status within Hong Kong's political landscape.
Jimmy's dramatic arrival and ascent in Hong Kong has long been etched into local lore. At age 12, driven by the pursuit of better opportunities, he first clandestinely journeyed to Macau on the undercarriage of a boat, then smuggled into Hong Kong. Beginning as a child laborer in a garment factory, Lai's hard work and sharp business acumen quickly propelled him upward, becoming factory manager by the age of 20. In 1981, he founded Giordano, transforming it into one of Asia's prominent clothing retail enterprises.
The 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre became a defining moment for Lai, cementing his deep-seated commitment to democracy and freedom. However, according to Mark Simon, Jimmy's disdain for communism and authoritarian rule had taken root far earlier. As Simon explained, "Jimmy's position on the Chinese Communist Party was cast in stone when he crossed over into Hong Kong because he left the system where he was chasing birds to eat to a system where a lowly shop assistant took him to lunch for the greatest meal he'd ever have."
Mark recounted a story Jimmy once shared with him: "When he was in China, he thought his family was OK. And then the communist came in. His home was subdivided. Then he arrives in Hong Kong, and he doesn't know anything."
A pivotal turning point came shortly after his arrival. With his aunt unable to support him financially, she took him to a garment factory seeking employment. There, a shop assistant noticed the young, hungry Jimmy and generously invited him to a meal, the best he'd ever experienced.
Mark recalled the story with a smile: "And then Jimmy thought to himself, this guy's just a shop assistant. He's the assistant to the boss and he eats better than the richest people in Guangzhou. Man do I hate the communist! It's cast in stone."
Lai's journey wasn't just about escaping poverty, it was about discovering firsthand the stark contrast between life under authoritarianism and life in a free-market society. That realization would shape the rest of his life, setting him on a path of relentless resistance against the CCP.
A Target For Beijing
Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, Jimmy Lai turned his focus to media, launching Next Magazine in 1990 – an investigative publication unafraid to challenge the Chinese Communist Party. As Hong Kong's 1997 handover to China loomed, Lai doubled down on his commitment to press freedom by founding Apple Daily in 1995. The newspaper quickly gained a reputation for its fearless journalism and staunch pro-democracy stance, making it a thorn in Beijing's side.
On June 30, 2020, The National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong was enacted, and came into effect at 11 pm local time on the same day. The law was imposed by Beijing's National People's Congress (NPC), bypassing Hong Kong's local legislature. A new era of political repression dawned in Hong Kong.
Just two months later, authorities arrested Jimmy Lai, accusing him of colluding with foreign forces and fraud. The crackdown intensified in June 2021, when Apple Daily was forced to shut down after the government froze its assets, effectively silencing one of Hong Kong's last major independent news outlets.
By December 2021, Lai was sentenced to 13 months in prison for participating in unauthorized assemblies commemorating the Tiananmen Square Massacre. As of March 2025, he remains incarcerated, facing additional charges under the NSL – charges that could potentially keep him behind bars for life.
Lai's imprisonment stands as a stark reminder of Beijing's tightening grip on Hong Kong and the price of dissent in an increasingly authoritarian landscape.
Skin-Deep Charges
Amid the crackdown on Lai and Apple Daily, Mark Simon, Jimmy Lai's longtime confidant, left Hong Kong in the spring of 2020. Observing the legal proceedings from abroad, he remained convinced that the authorities had little substance to their case against Lai:
"I've always believed that they know they have nothing on Jimmy. Jimmy Lai has basically been tried on two things: tweets and what he said in terms of on-air comments or something like that, the whole collusion thing is pretty much collapsed. Because the fact of the matter is, Jimmy really in an overall sense did not meet with many people in eight years. He went to Washington DC twice largely because he wanted people to understand about press freedom. Press freedom was really the driving force early on with Jimmy. He's always been a democracy activist. He's always been pro-democracy."
But Lai's lifelong advocacy for democracy clearly irked the authority in Beijing, and they were determined to silence him – so much that they locked the 77-year-old diabetic in solitary confinement inside Stanley Prison, a pre-World War II maximum-security facility known for housing Hong Kong's most dangerous criminals.
Throughout his imprisonment, Lai has steadfastly maintained his innocence, insisting that the charges against him are politically motivated attempts to suppress press freedom and democracy. But even he may not have anticipated that his skin color – "yellow" – would be invoked in a court of law, as Judge Esther Toh Lye-ping suggested it as a condition of his alleged offense.
In a case already steeped in political repression, the racial undertones of the courtroom exchange added yet another layer of controversy – one that further exposed the lengths to which Beijing and its judiciary allies were willing to go to redefine identity, loyalty, and dissent in Hong Kong.
International Legal Spotlight
Jimmy Lai's trial has captured global legal scrutiny, with experts and former judges from common law jurisdictions warning that it marks a fundamental departure from Hong Kong's once-respected legal traditions. What was once considered a bastion of judicial independence is now being seen as a system increasingly compromised by political interference.
Among the most shocking aspects of the trial – the courtroom exchange over Lai's skin color – has been widely condemned in international legal circles. Experts argue that it reflects a troubling shift toward identity politics shaping judicial proceedings, an alarming contrast to the impartiality that once defined Hong Kong's legal system.
The case has also drawn criticism from United Nations human rights experts, who have issued formal statements calling for Lai's immediate release, citing violations of due process and the criminalization of free expression.
With such mounting international condemnation, Hong Kong's judiciary – once a model of the rule of law in Asia – now faces growing isolation within the global legal community. What was once a symbol of legal fairness has become yet another battleground in Beijing's broader crackdown on dissent.
Captain Of The Ship
Mark Simon began working for Jimmy Lai in May 2001, forging a close partnership that lasted through Lai's rise as a media mogul and his ultimate persecution. According to Simon, while Lai has been an ardent defender of Hong Kong's identity, he is also "very proud to be Chinese." But above all, he deeply loves Hong Kong and its freedoms.
When the crackdown on democracy began, many urged Lai to flee, fearing for his safety. But Lai refused.
"I am one who believes in democracy for Hong Kong. I believe in the Basic Law. We won't know the results of what's going to happen with this national security law unless we stay here and actually discover what they have in store for us."
Yet, according to Simon, the real reason Lai stayed had little to do with political idealism. It was about "protecting the rights of others" and his devotion to his staff.
"He told me many times that he couldn't walk away from his people at Apple Daily and have them go to jail working for him. The captain of the ship goes down with the ship."
For Lai, his fight for democracy was inseparable from his belief in free markets. A close personal friend of Milton Friedman and Robert Mundell, Lai had long championed economic liberty as a pillar of political freedom. His publications not only advocated for democratic governance but also firmly opposed violence as a means of resistance.
During the 2019 Hong Kong protests, Lai publicly called for peaceful demonstrations, warning that violence would only play into Beijing's hands and weaken the movement's legitimacy.
Simon summed up Lai's core philosophy: "Jimmy values freedom. Freedom above all else. He doesn't like the idea of a government that is basically non-responsive to the people. He doesn't like tyrants."
And then, the tyrants struck.
Deteriorating Health
During the interview, Mark Simon expressed deep concern over Jimmy Lai's worsening health. A diabetic, Lai is now suffering from failing eyesight, a condition exacerbated by the harsh environment of Stanley Prison.
Built in the 1930s, Stanley is an aging maximum-security facility notorious for its overcrowding, poor ventilation, and extreme temperatures. Summers in Hong Kong are brutal, with high humidity and temperatures exceeding 30°C (86°F). The prison lacks modern climate control systems, making conditions especially unbearable in solitary confinement and cramped cells.
Prisoners in Stanley have frequently reported severe discomfort and health issues due to heat stress, a problem that human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned. Advocacy groups argue that the lack of proper cooling and ventilation is not just neglect – it is an additional form of punishment, disproportionately affecting elderly and vulnerable inmates like Lai.
Despite these deteriorating conditions, Jimmy Lai remains steadfast, enduring imprisonment with the same resilience that defined his decades-long fight for democracy. But as his health declines, international concerns grow over whether he will survive long enough to regain his freedom.
The Family's Ongoing Struggle
Behind the courtroom battles and political firestorm, Jimmy Lai's family continues to fight a quiet but determined battle for his release. His son, Sebastien Lai, who manages the family's affairs from overseas, has been thrust from private life into the global human rights arena, becoming one of his father's most vocal advocates.
To amplify their efforts, the family launched the "Free Jimmy Lai" campaign, working closely with international human rights organizations to keep his case in the global spotlight. Despite facing surveillance and intimidation, they persist in their mission, ensuring that the world does not forget his plight.
What Can The International Community Do?
Mark Simon describes the case against Jimmy Lai as "a complete and utter bust," a politically motivated prosecution with no legitimate legal foundation. He believes the international community must take a firm stance, sending a clear message to Beijing: "Look at China and say: you want to be an equal on the international playing field. You want to bring your rules to the international playing field. We reject this rule. If you want to be a player here, these political prisoners – not just Jimmy – these political prisoners need to stop happening."
Mark also warns Chinese authorities that persecuting Jimmy Lai carries long-term consequences. Despite the relentless crackdown, Lai has remained steadfastly nonviolent. At 77 years old and in declining health, his imprisonment is already a humanitarian crisis. "If Jimmy dies in prison, they've got themselves a martyr they've just created," Mark says.
The stakes extend beyond Lai himself. His case has become a symbol of Hong Kong's lost freedoms and a test of how far the world is willing to push back against authoritarian overreach.
