Jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been awarded Deutsche Welle's freedom of speech award for his contribution to the pro-democracy movement, the German public broadcaster announced on Thursday.
Award Presented in Absentia
Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, will be honored in absentia at the 12th DW Freedom of Speech Award ceremony on 23 June during the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Deutsche Welle's director general, Barbara Massing, praised Lai for standing "unwaveringly for press freedom in Hong Kong at great personal risk."
"With Apple Daily, he gave journalists a platform for free reporting and a voice to the democracy movement in Hong Kong," Massing said. "His commitment reminds us that press freedom is never a given – it must be constantly defended. With the DW freedom of speech award, we honour his indispensable dedication to democratic values."
Lai's Background and Imprisonment
Lai, a British citizen, was one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy advocates before his imprisonment. He financially supported democratic parties and politicians and participated in mass protests against Beijing's rule in 2019 and 2020. Authorities arrested him in 2020, accusing him of using Apple Daily and his political connections to lobby foreign governments to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong.
In February, a Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison on charges including "conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces" and publishing "seditious material." He was convicted under the city's national security law, imposed by the Chinese Communist Party in 2020. Rights groups and the British government condemned the ruling as politically motivated, with Human Rights Watch warning that the sentence amounted to "effectively a death sentence."
Broader Implications
Lai's conviction is seen by critics as a symbol of Hong Kong's transformation from a largely free city after its return to China in 1997 to one where dissent is fiercely suppressed. Beijing argues that the national security law was necessary to restore stability. Lai, born in southern China in 1947 and who fled to Hong Kong in 1960, has said he owes "everything to the people of Hong Kong" and that prison would be "redemption" for the "wonderful life" the territory gave him.
Additional reporting by Yu-chen Li.
