Closing arguments start Thursday in the trial that could jail Jimmy Lai, a devout Catholic and Hong Kong’s most famous pro-democracy activist, for life. Lai is a self-made billionaire. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over Hong Kong in 1997, he had more than the means and the connections to flee—many other CCP critics understandably did just that. But he stayed, unable to abandon his lifelong pursuit of freedom. “I called my people to fight,” he said in 2020. “They look at me. I can’t let them down.” He knew this choice meant the worst could come. That’s exactly what happened.
