Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s “rabid hatred” of the Communist Party of China has led him down a “thorny path”, according to the judges who found him guilty on three counts of national security offences.
The 855-page full judgment released on Monday started with the “rags-to-riches” success story of Lai, but was overshadowed by criticism, particularly regarding the credibility of his evidence.
Born in Guangzhou in 1947, Lai smuggled himself into Hong Kong at the age of 12, hidden in the bottom of a fishing boat, after his family lost its fortune amid political unrest on mainland China.
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He started working in factories, taught himself English by reading newspapers, and eventually founded the fashion chain Giordano in 1981, which quickly became a household name across Asia.
Following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, Lai produced T-shirts in support of the student-led movement. He went on to establish Next Media in 1990 and, five years later, launched Apple Daily, which openly criticised Beijing.
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“His story was truly a rags-to-riches success story, and by dint of his hard work and determination, he eventually built a very successful textile business,” read the judgment penned by national security law judges Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana D’Almada Remedios and Alex Lee Wan-tang.