Jimmy Lai - Hong Kong philanthropist and media exec
Jimmy Lai was convicted for his faith and his pro-democracy work - NCR
There was no surprise in the unjust verdict delivered by a Chinese court, which found Catholic philanthropist and media executive Jimmy Lai guilty of collusion with foreigners to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. Just a reminder of the evil at work in the world.
Lai's pro-democracy labors really are a threat to the Chinese regime which, like most totalitarian regimes, conflated the nation with itself. Lai did not threaten China: He threatened the tyrants who run the country. His show trial was not designed by the corrupt leaders to deliver justice. It was designed to intimidate others.
The power brokers in Beijing have violated all they promised Hong Kong residents in order to secure the colony's return to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
The Chinese government is not only afraid of Lai's politics. His Catholic faith rightly worried them. "Of course, Jimmy Lai's persecution is in part political. He is an outspoken proponent of democracy and human rights," said Stephen Schneck, commissioner and former chair, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF, in an email interview. "Importantly, though, among those rights is his championing of religious freedom. Moreover, Lai roots his defense of democracy and rights in his faith. It must also be noted that Lai has intentionally been denied the Holy Eucharist during his detention. Clearly, his imprisonment by the Chinese regime reflects a denial of religious freedom."
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