For more than four years, one of the greatest entrepreneurs in Hong Kong’s history has been in solitary confinement on sham charges that could lead to imprisonment for life. Despite being held in a small cell, 77-year-old Jimmy Lai has become one of Beijing’s greatest threats and one of the world’s most courageous leaders in the fight for freedom.
Our guest on this episode of Voices of Freedom is Mark L. Clifford, Lai’s close friend and an advocate for freedom in Hong Kong. He shares Lai’s remarkable story, from his childhood in poverty, to his rise as a successful business owner and newspaper publisher, to his stand against tyranny.
This year, The Bradley Foundation has awarded Lai with an Honorary Bradley Prize for his unwavering commitment to the ideals of freedom.
Topics Discussed on this Episode:
- Lai’s childhood on mainland China and why he fled to Hong Kong
- How Lai was able to quickly rise above his circumstances
- The influence of free market ideas on Lai’s career and life
- The impact of Tiananmen Square and the massacre of 1989
- Lai’s introduction to Catholicism and how religion shaped his belief system
- Lai’s decision to stay in Hong Kong and take a stand for freedom
- Lai’s state of mind after more than four years in prison
- Why the Chinese Communist Party fears Lai
- Whether there’s hope for Hong Kong’s democratic movement
About Mark L. Clifford:
Clifford is president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong, the former executive director of the Asia Business Council, and a former board member at Next Digital. He is editorial chair of the Asian Review of Books and served as editor in chief of both English-language papers in Hong Kong, The Standard and the South China Morning Post.