How Jimmy Lai Found Freedom in Faith Behind Bars

I have a Christmas card that was sent to me in 2022 by Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai. Now 78, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison on February 9, after spending more than 5 years in custody awaiting the ruling.

What Jimmy Lai's 20-Year Sentence Means for Hong Kong

The card features an image of the Annunciation, depicting the Virgin Mary being told by an angel that she would conceive Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The crayon drawing was made by Lai himself while he was incarcerated at Stanley Prison in Hong Kong.

In the illustration, Lai added a single word to capture Mary's resolve as she accepts God's will despite her confusion at the sudden revelation: "YES!"

Longing for Security

On December 15, 2025, Lai was found guilty of violating Hong Kong's National Security Law, among other charges.

He was baptized as a Catholic in 1997, the year Hong Kong was handed back from the British to Chinese rule. Lai's faith took root after he began attending church at the encouragement of his devout Catholic wife, Teresa Lai.

"Anxiety about the future after the handover — the fear that I might be arrested — seeped into my heart and created a longing for security. That's why I decided to be baptized," Lai later told a priest.

The name of Apple Daily, the Hong Kong newspaper founded by Lai, also has biblical roots. It refers to the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve eating the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, commonly depicted as an apple in Western Christian art.

The paper's original slogan was "An apple a day keeps the lies away." Lai explained that if Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit, there would be no evil, and therefore no news.

*Jimmy Lai in 2020. (©Sankei by Kinya Fujimoto)*

From Anxiety to Acceptance

"While working in Hong Kong and closely observing society, I realized something: people who speak English succeed," Lai said when I interviewed him in 2020.

Lai was born in China's Guangdong Province. In 1960, at the age of 12, he smuggled himself alone into Hong Kong, driven by a simple desire: "I wanted to eat chocolate until I was full."

After working in factories, he made money trading stocks and went on to found an apparel company. He supported China's pro-democracy movement during the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown.

In 1995, he launched Apple Daily, which gained popularity for its outspoken criticism of China and its advocacy of freedom and democracy, becoming a pillar of Hong Kong's democracy movement both editorially and financially.

When I asked Lai about the secret to his success, he laughed and replied, "It was studying English as hard as I could, of course." He taught himself English to pursue success, but it also helped deepen his faith. For many years, Lai made it a habit to wake up at 4 AM to read English books. Over time, he moved beyond the Bible to Christian texts written in English.

Faith and Freedom

On an August night in 2020, Lai was arrested for the first time on suspicion of violating the National Security Law. He lay on the cold floor of a detention cell, gripped by the fear that he might never be released. But calm returned to him when he came to believe: "Even if I could start my life over, I would walk the same path. This is my destiny, a gift from God. I will accept it."

At that point, 23 years had passed since his baptism. Although he was released on bail two days later, he was imprisoned again four months afterward.

*A crayon drawing of the Virgin Mary by Jimmy Lai, illustrated in prison and featured on his family's 2025 Christmas card.*

According to Mark Clifford, a former Hong Kong journalist and close associate of Lai, he continues to read Christian books in prison and has been studying theology. Clifford says Lai has drawn strength from the writings of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer was a pastor who resisted the Nazi regime during World War II as his way of following Christ. His life, which ended with his execution in a concentration camp, parallels Lai's struggle against China for the sake of Hong Kong in striking ways.

The Christmas card I received from Lai's family in 2025 also featured an Annunciation drawn by Lai. What set it apart from the 2022 card was the inclusion of his personal confession of faith.

"I give heartfelt thanks to the Lord for granting me a new life," it read. "It is filled with true peace, joy, and meaning that I could not see before." The message concluded, "Now that I can see, I am free."

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Kinya Fujimoto, The Sankei Shimbun