Supporters Hope for Deportation as Trial of Jimmy Lai Nears End

Supporters Hope for Deportation as Trial of Jimmy Lai Nears End

A Hong Kong court this week heard final arguments in the trial of Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old Catholic publisher and founder of Apple Daily, imprisoned since 2020 under Beijing’s controversial National Security Law. Prosecutors claim that Lai’s international connections — including conversations with U.S. and U.K. officials — prove his “unwavering intent” to solicit sanctions against China and Hong Kong. If convicted, Lai faces life in prison¹.

A foregone conclusion
Observers describe the outcome as all but inevitable. Lai’s longtime associate, Mark Simon, told The Pillar that conviction is certain: “He always knew he was going to be found guilty. The family knew that, too. But Jimmy’s point was always that he’s not going to plead guilty. He was never going to say ‘I did it.’”² Simon suggested that while conviction is assured, supporters hope it will clear the way for deportation on humanitarian grounds.

The trial, conducted without a jury, is overseen by judges hand-picked by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee, Beijing’s sole-approved candidate in 2022³. Lai himself has appeared in court wearing a heart monitor, his deteriorating health underlining both the severity of his confinement and the absurdity of the heavy security presence surrounding his appearances. “It’s a kind of cosplay,” Simon noted, describing the convoys and armed guards escorting the elderly publisher².

Faith and freedom
Lai’s Catholic faith has been central throughout his imprisonment. Since his arrest in 2020, he has referred to his incarceration as the “pinnacle” of his life⁴, a providential cross uniting him with the martyrs of faith and conscience. His newspaper, Apple Daily, stood as one of the last bastions of press freedom in Hong Kong until its forced closure in 2021, when authorities froze assets and arrested senior editors⁵.

His plight echoes that of other Catholic leaders targeted under the National Security Law. Cardinal Joseph Zen, emeritus bishop of Hong Kong, denounced Lai’s arrest as “political persecution” and “obvious intimidation”⁶. Zen himself was later convicted of regulatory infractions after prosecutors withdrew — but did not dismiss — national security charges⁷. Activist Agnes Chow fled into exile in Canada in 2023⁸.

An international test
Lai’s fate has drawn attention from world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, both of whom have urged his release². The paradox, as Simon notes, is that such interventions risk reinforcing the prosecution’s allegations of “foreign collusion,” while at the same time increasing the diplomatic cost to Hong Kong of continuing his imprisonment.

The deeper question, however, concerns the very identity of Hong Kong. “For Hong Kong, the problem is can you be an international city with political prisoners held for dubious reasons? The answer is you can’t,” Simon remarked². This sentiment underscores the tension between Beijing’s insistence on ideological conformity and the global expectation that Hong Kong remain a city of free exchange, commerce, and speech.

A Catholic witness
In Catholic terms, Lai’s ordeal bears witness not only to the fragility of civil liberties under authoritarianism but to the power of faith in adversity. His steadfast refusal to confess guilt to charges retroactively applied recalls the Church’s teaching on conscience and truth: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). As Cardinal Zen noted at the time of his arrest, the campaign against Lai reveals “a clear policy direction: suppress the freedom of expression”⁶.

Whether Beijing ultimately sees deportation as expedient remains to be seen. What is clear is that Lai’s life, health, and faith now stand as a moral indictment of a system in which dissent is criminalised, truth is rebranded as sedition, and the price of fidelity is solitary confinement.

¹ The Pillar, “Supporters hope for deportation as trial of Jimmy Lai nears end,” Aug. 18, 2025.
² Ibid. (Interview with Mark Simon).
³ Hong Kong Free Press, “John Lee chosen as Hong Kong’s next leader in Beijing-approved race,” May 8, 2022.
⁴ Jimmy Lai, statement after arrest, reported in Catholic News Agency, Dec. 2020.
⁵ BBC News, “Apple Daily: Hong Kong pro-democracy paper to close,” June 23, 2021.
⁶ Cardinal Joseph Zen, interview cited in UCA News, Dec. 2020.
⁷ Reuters, “Cardinal Zen found guilty over Hong Kong fund,” Nov. 25, 2022.
⁸ CBC News, “Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow now living in Canada,” Dec. 4, 2023.