Jimmy Lai, a journalist, writer, media publisher, and pro-democracy activist, has won PEN Canada’s One Humanity Award. Lai, who has been in solitary confinement since December 2020, is currently facing a potential life sentence for his journalism in Hong Kong.
The 76-year old writer, who is a UK citizen, has been targeted for his journalism and pro-democracy activism. He was the owner of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, once regarded as Hong Kong’s most prolific pro-democracy news outlet.
Before Apple Daily was shut down by authorities in 2021, Lai wrote a letter to his staff from prison, telling them that “freedom of speech is a dangerous job” and that “it is time for us to stand tall with our heads held high”. He received a twelve-month sentence just days later.
Since Lai’s initial arrest in August 2020, he has faced multiple unjust convictions, including a 13-month sentence for unauthorized assembly stemming from his brief appearance at a vigil commemorating the Tiananmen Square massacre. More recently, he was sentenced to five years and nine months imprisonment for violating the terms of a commercial lease for the headquarters of Apple Daily’s parent company.
PEN believes that Lai’s ongoing detention is emblematic of the devastating impact the 2020 National Security Law (NSL) has had on freedom of expression across Hong Kong. His case is illustrative of the government’s willingness to use the legal system to silence dissent. The chilling effect of the NSL has created a climate of self-censorship across the territory, with several independent media outlets having dissolved in an effort to protect their staff from potential prosecution.
In December 2023, Lai faced a new trial for two charges under the NSL of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces”. Lai also faces a separate count of “conspiracy to produce seditious publications” under Hong Kong’s colonial-era sedition law. The charges could result in life imprisonment. Jimmy Lai has pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Lai’s international legal team and PEN International have raised Lai’s unjust detention at the United Nations on several occasions. When engaging with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights in March, Lai’s international legal team raised concerns about the use of the NSL and sedition laws to target authors, journalists, activists and students.
“The lawfare directed at Jimmy Lai confirms that Beijing’s National Security Law, imposed on Hong Kong four years ago, was always intended to chill expression,” says Grace Westcott, PEN Canada President. “We condemn this travesty of justice and human rights, as should every government that values freedom of expression and democracy.”
The One Humanity Award, established in 2006, is given to a writer whose work transcends the boundaries of national divides and inspires connections across cultures. Previous winners include Egyptian democracy activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, Ethiopian journalist Eskinder Nega and Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. It is valued at $7,000.
The award will be presented at a private ceremony hosted by PEN Canada in October. Mr. Lai, whose trial is suspended until November 2024, will have a representative receive it on his behalf.
PEN Canada is a nonpartisan organization that celebrates literature, defends freedom of expression, and assists writers in peril at home and abroad. The English-language Canadian centre was founded in 1983 and is proud to be one of over 130 centres of PEN International.
