San Francisco Frontiers - Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media 'troublemaker' in Beijing's crosshairs

Verdicts in the 78-year-old's national security trial are set to be delivered on Monday, a case widely condemned by Western nations as an attack on political liberties and the free press.

Lai told AFP in June 2020 he was "prepared for prison", where he has been since late that year.

Those remarks came two weeks before Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on the finance hub after huge, and sometimes violent, pro-democracy protests the previous year.

He was arrested under the new security law that August, fulfilling his prediction that he was a prime target for prosecution.

"If (prison) comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive," he said at the time.

Few Hong Kongers generate the same level of vitriol from Beijing as Lai.

He is an unlikely hero for many residents of the semi-autonomous city, a pugnacious, self-made tabloid owner and the only tycoon willing to lampoon Beijing.

But to China's state media he is a "traitor", the biggest "black hand" behind the pro-democracy protests and the head of a new "Gang of Four" conspiring with foreign nations to undermine the motherland.

- Tiananmen watershed -

Lai rose from poverty, like many Hong Kong tycoons.

He was born into a wealthy family in mainland China's Guangdong province, but they lost it all when the communists took power in 1949.

Smuggled into Hong Kong aged 12, Lai toiled in sweatshops, taught himself English and eventually founded the hugely successful Giordano clothing empire.

However, his path diverged from his contemporaries when China sent tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

He founded his first publication shortly after and wrote columns critical of senior Chinese leaders.

Authorities began closing his mainland clothing stores, so Lai sold up and ploughed the money into a tabloid empire.

Lai was the subject of other lawsuits, including one where he was acquitted of intimidating a journalist from a rival newspaper.

But his embrace of 2019's pro-democracy movement landed him in deeper trouble and he was jailed for 20 months over his participation in some rallies.

An additional fraud case over an office lease added almost six more years to his sentence.

Those cases pale in comparison to Monday's verdicts.

Lai is charged with two counts of "conspiracy to foreign collusion" under the security law that carry a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is also charged with one count of "conspiracy to publish seditious publications".

He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Asked why he didn't keep quiet and enjoy his wealth like Hong Kong's other tycoons, Lai said in 2020 he "just fell into it, but it feels right doing it".

"Maybe I'm a born rebel, maybe I'm someone who needs a lot of meaning to live my life besides money," he said.

- 'Delivering freedom' -

Lai also said then he had no plans to leave Hong Kong despite his wealth and the risks he faced.

"I'm a troublemaker. I came here with nothing, the freedom of this place has given me everything. Maybe it's time I paid back for that freedom by fighting for it," he said.

Lai's two primary publications -- the Apple Daily newspaper and the digital-only Next magazine -- openly backed democracy protests in a city where competitors either support Beijing or tread a far more cautious line.

The two publications were largely devoid of advertisements for years as brands steered clear of incurring Beijing's wrath, and Lai plugged the losses with his own cash.

They were popular, offering a heady mix of celebrity news, sex scandals and genuine investigations.

Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 after police raids and the arrests of senior editors. Next also closed.

Lai defended his paper during more than 40 days of spirited courtroom testimony.

"The core values of Apple Daily are actually the core values of the people of Hong Kong... (including) rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly," he told the court in November 2024.

"To participate in delivering freedom is a very good idea for me," Lai said.

"The more you are in the know, the more you are free."

L.Lopez--SFF