Jimmy Lai is my hero. At age 12, he risked his life escaping Communist China and arrived in Hong Kong. Some people may view his early experience as that of a child laborer. As Wikipedia describes, “he stowed away alone at age 12 to Hong Kong, where he found work as a child laborer in a garment factory earning the equivalent of US$8 a month and taught himself English.”
Jimmy Lai, however, appreciated the opportunities that capitalism gave him and went on to become a wealthy entrepreneur. He holds U.K. citizenship but chose to remain in Hong Kong to support the student democracy movement against Communist China. He was jailed for five years without trial, and his recent trial resulted in a 20-year sentence. He is now 78 years old.
“A Joyful Martyr”
Jimmy Lai is a Christian who draws strength from his faith. One of his favorite Bible verses, Matthew 22:14 — “For many are called, but few are chosen” — reflects the path he believes he was called to follow.
Since his imprisonment, he reportedly has spent up to 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, with almost no communication allowed with the outside world. Despite these conditions, his commitment to his faith and convictions has led some to describe him as a “joyful martyr.”
An Icon in the Fight for Freedom and Democracy
Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong on February 9, 2026. Now 78 years old, his chances of surviving a full sentence are extremely slim. He was convicted of “collusion with foreign forces” and publishing “seditious material,” under the National Security Law.
In effect, his imprisonment signals the intentions of the Chinese Communist authorities to silence him permanently. As a result, Jimmy Lai has become a powerful symbol—an icon who inspires those who value peace, freedom, and democracy to stand against authoritarian rule.
I remember my own experience as a student at Peking University, standing in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and dreaming of a future where freedom and democracy would replace Communist rule. In the years that followed, Jimmy Lai used his newspaper and media platforms to help the outside world understand what was happening in China. Decades later, in 2019, he stood with Hong Kong’s students as they protested the rapid erosion of the city’s freedoms.
We Should Be Like Jimmy Lai in Defending Western Civilization
Jimmy Lai is now in prison. The regime may have tried to silence him, but his story — and what he stands for — has only grown louder. His case forces a harder question: what does it mean to defend Western civilization?
Hong Kong provides a clear example. In 1842, it came under British rule. The 155-year colonial period was not perfect, but the city became prosperous, and its people enjoyed freedoms — such as free speech and other fundamental rights — commonly associated with Western societies. Before 1997, Hong Kong was a dynamic manufacturing and trade hub, accounting for more than 18% of China’s GDP. Today, that share has dropped to about 2%.
In 1997, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule as a “special administrative region,” with a promise of 50 years of economic and political autonomy. Less than halfway through that period, Chinese authorities imposed the National Security Law — a clear break from that promise and a turning point in the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms.
The lesson is straightforward: systems and values have consequences. Hong Kong’s trajectory shows how political and economic choices can either protect or undermine prosperity and liberty.
In today’s Western world, some political movements openly flirt with communism while attacking capitalism and stepping away from Christianity. Hong Kong shows where that road leads. The lesson is not abstract — it is real and recent. If we care about freedom, human dignity, and prosperity, then we should be like Jimmy Lai: willing to stand firm, speak clearly, and defend the systems and beliefs that sustain them, even when the cost is high.