China Took His City. And Now His Father.
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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What led to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong?
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From The New York Times, I'm Michael Barbaro.
This is The Daily.
The pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong brought hundreds of thousands of people out into the streets in 2019. They demanded democracy and that China uphold the freedoms it had promised when it took back the British colony in the late 1990s.
For the first time since Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong, police have carried out dozens of arrests and used water cannon and tear gas against protesters.
China responded by arresting thousands of protesters, including the leaders of the movement, like a man named Jimmy Lai. For decades, Lai had used his wealth and his newspaper to campaign for democracy. He was a constant thorn in the side of Beijing.
If I knew that I would end up like this in prison, would I have changed the way I run my life? And I realized that no, I wouldn't.
We interviewed Lai on the show in 2020, just after he was arrested.
Because I never did anything before intentionally, just naturally. So it must be my character. He was later found guilty of national security crimes.
And earlier this month, after five years of waiting behind bars, Jimmy Lai was summoned for his sentencing hearing. And when he arrived at the courthouse, what became clear is that the movement he once helped lead had now become a shell of itself. A small group of pro-democracy demonstrators had gathered outside, their faces hidden by scarves and masks for fear of being identified. They, like Lai himself, were waiting to learn his sentence.
The heavy, very heavy sentence, you know, almost comically heavy sentence was expected.
20 years?
Yeah, 20 years. For his age, that's basically a life sentence.
Jimmy Lai's son, Sebastian, was also waiting.
I mean, by the time he gets out, if he does, he'll be 98. Given the health conditions that he's in, and given the conditions that he's been kept in, I don't know if he could even serve one-tenth of that sentence.
He spent years trying to free his father and learned the news of his sentence from thousands of miles away in Paris.
His health has deteriorated massively over the last five years. His nails are falling off. He's got heart problems. I mean, look, everybody knows someone around his age, late 70s, early 80s. And if you put a man that age in a 60 square feet cell in solitary confinement the whole time, Even if you did that for someone for 100 days, the likelihood of that person surviving is not high, and he's been in there for 1,800 days and more.
Wow. You know that number very well.
Yeah. Yeah, unfortunately I do. But there was a little moment that gave me some courage. It was when the sentence was announced and a report from court said that he even managed to flash a smile, almost to tell his captors that he's still fighting, that even though they've shackled his body, attempt to break it, they have not shackled his soul. And I think his spirit is only being made stronger by his persecution.
Today, we speak with Sebastian Lai about his father's sentence, what it means for the pro-democracy movement, and where Hong Kong goes from here. It's Friday, February 27th.
So five years ago, we, Sebastian, made an episode about your father around the time when he was first arrested. And so many of the details from that episode stick out to me. He was born in mainland China and grew up in poverty during the communist takeover there. There was widespread famine at that time. And he recollected the story of Working on the trains.
Those guys I carried the baggage for.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–0:22
2
What led to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong?
0:22–8:33
3
Who is Jimmy Lai and why is he significant?
8:33–13:19
4
What was the reaction to Jimmy Lai's sentencing?
13:19–18:21
5
How has Jimmy Lai's imprisonment affected his family?
18:21–26:17
6
What does Sebastien Lai share about his father's character?
26:17–37:44
7
How did Sebastien Lai experience the protests in Hong Kong?
37:44–37:49