Jimmy Lai is a pro-democracy activist, politician, critic of the Chinese Communist Party and the founder of Giordano, an Asian clothing retailer.
Jimmy Lai Wife
Jimmy Lai was formerly married to Judy.
Mr Lai’s wife Teresa was present in court, along with family and Joseph Zen, the 92-year-old cardinal who was also arrested under the NSL
Jimmy Lai Biography
Lai Chee-Ying, widely known as Jimmy Lai, is a 73-year-old entrepreneur and activist born on December 8th, 1947 in Guangzhou, Republic of China.
Jimmy Lai is 76 years old
He is Chinese, Taiwanese and British.
Ten of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists, including Jimmy Jai, have been sentenced to spend up to 18 months in prison for participating in “unauthorised assemblies” during anti-Beijing mass protests in 2019, as reported by the Guardian.
His siblings are unknown
Jimmy Lai and his first wife, Judy, had three children. She left him for another man. In 1989 he met his current wife Teresa, then a 24-year-old college student; they married two years later, and have children together.
His net worth is estimated at $1.2 billion, and he has also been awarded the “Freedom of Press Award” by Reporters Without Border for his newspaper “Apple Daily.”
Jimmy Lai is the CEO of the Asian clothing retailer “Giordano,” as well as the founder and chairman of a Hong Kong-listed media company “Next Digital,” and the only opposition newspaper in Hong Kong “Apple Daily,” while he has also invested in the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer “HTC.”
The media tycoon has been politically vocal, supporting the Democratic Party and criticising the Chinese Communist Party throughout his career.
On April 12th 2021, Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 14 months in j ail after being involved in the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, along with other activists.
The influential entrepreneur was arrested earlier in August 2020 by the Hong Kong police for violating Beijing’s national security law imposed on Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai has been accused and criticised by the Chinese Communist Party supporters, as he has even been named a “traitor.”
The 73-year-old in prison has sent a letter to “Apple Daily” encouraging the staff to keep pursuing the democratic dream even in his absence.
“It is our responsibility as journalists to seek justice. As long as we do not let evil get its way through us, we are fulfilling our responsibility. It is time for us to stand tall,” Jimmy Lai wrote.
Through his roster of publications including Apple Daily, he has championed free speech and, last summer, he led from the forefront of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Naturally, his participation was not without repercussions; following the protests, Lai was arrested in August on suspicion of “collaborating with foreign forces”, a charge Beijing was able to bring against him in the wake of a national security law imposed on Hong Kong following the unrest. Upon his arrest, Lai was filmed being marched from his house in handcuffs. Later, he was put through a ‘perp walk’ in the offices of his own newspaper.
Speaking to the BBC, Lai – an important figure in the pro-democracy movement due to his vocal support – told reporters he believed his arrest was “just the beginning” and warned other protestors to be careful. “This scene in a city that has long been a beacon of press freedom in Asia shocked many Hong Kongers — and that was probably the point,” writes Ravi Mattu, who met Lai for the Financial Times. “For Beijing, Lai’s arrest was a signal that no one who challenged its authority was beyond reach.”
Out on bail at the time of the interview with Mattu, Lai, 73, claims the police treated him “quite politely”, even allowing him to take a bath while in custody. Nine other activists were arrested alongside Lai, including two of his sons on what Lai claims are “bogus charges”
