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The Troublemaker

How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic

Published By Free Press •
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Date and Time
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Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
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Featuring
Mark Clifford portrait
Mark Clifford

Author and President, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation

Sebastien Lai portrait
Sebastien Lai

Son of Jimmy Lai

Mark Simon portrait
Mark Simon

Former Group Director, Next Digital Companies

Jimmy Lai became China’s most prominent political prisoner when he was arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges after Hong Kong imposed its draconian security law in mid-2020. Mark Clifford will tell Lai’s story of escaping China to Hong Kong as a boy, becoming a successful entrepreneur in the fashion industry, and founding and running the wildly popular Apple Daily newspaper and Next magazine to criticize China’s Communist Party and advocate for democracy in Hong Kong. The author will discuss why Lai became a stalwart champion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien, and Mark Simon will discuss the importance of Lai’s activism, the state of his current national security trial, and any prospects for Lai’s own freedom.

Lunch to follow.

The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic - book promo
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The Troublemaker

Jimmy Lai escaped mainland China when he was twelve years old, at the height of a famine that killed tens of millions. In Hong Kong, he hustled and often slept overnight on a table in a clothing factory where he did odd jobs. At twenty-one, he was running a factory. By his mid-twenties, he owned one and was supplying sweaters and shirts to some of the biggest brands in the United States, from Polo to The Limited.

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