The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty

As China’s Communist Party exerts ever greater control over Hong Kong, media entrepreneur and democracy leader Jimmy Lai has become a powerful symbol of the struggle for democratic rights and press freedom in the territory. In prison and denied bail, the outspoken critic of the Chinese government and advocate for democracy faces charges that could keep him in jail for the rest of his life.

Born in mainland China, Lai arrived in Hong Kong at age 12 as a stowaway on a fishing boat. After starting as a child laborer in a garment factory, he rose to manager, eventually purchasing a bankrupt company and launching the clothing retail chain Giordano, where he made his fortune.

After the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Lai founded Next Media (which became Next Digital in 2015) and launched Next magazine. Next became the top news magazine in Hong Kong for over 30 years. And while Next was known for its exposés, it was also known for its strong advocacy of free markets, lower regulation, and economic choice in all matters.

Following a column in the magazine in 1994, in which Lai told then Chinese Prime Minister Li Peng to “drop dead,” China began to force the closures of branches of Giordano on the mainland. Lai sold his share of that company and in 1995 launched Apple Daily, which was a combination of tabloid journalism, democracy advocacy, and a loud and clear free‐​market message.

It’s a message that came directly from Lai, who as a young man had discovered F. A. Hayek’s book The Road to Serfdom. Hayek’s wisdom resonated with the young entrepreneur who was trying to find a logical and moral framework to help place his own success into context. Lai said that, for him, finding Hayek was like a farmer discovering the underground spring under his most productive fields.

Lai and his wife, Teresa, also formed a strong personal connection with Milton and Rose Friedman, after Milton learned of Next magazine and insisted on meeting Lai—which first happened in Hong Kong in 1993. In 1998, the Friedmans came to Hong Kong for two weeks as Lai’s guests, and they continued to meet almost annually. When Milton died, Rose reached out to Lai, who dutifully came to be with her. After Rose’s death, the Friedman children sent Lai a blanket that Rose and Milton had purchased while on their honeymoon, along with some of Milton’s personal effects.

Since 1989, Lai has been a leading figure in the Hong Kong democracy movement. He is also one of many Catholics and other Christians who are central to the fight for democracy and human rights in China. Lai is well known for his religious outlook through his great friendship with Cardinal Joseph Zen and makes no secret that his faith is central in his struggle.

Lai was arrested in 2014 when he participated in pro‐​democracy demonstrations. He attracted China’s ire when, during widespread street protests in Hong Kong in 2019, he met with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a visit to Washington, DC.

His clashes with authorities intensified sharply in 2019, especially after the July 2020 enactment of a sweeping Chinese national security law that is now expanding mainland China’s suppression of the Hong Kong people.

Lai was arrested on February 28, 2020, and again on April 18 for alleged participation in unlawful demonstrations the previous year. Police arrested him again on August 10, 2020, for alleged collusion with foreign powers. He was arrested again and denied bail on December 3 after being charged with fraud. He was formally charged under China’s national security law on December 11.

Lai was granted bail on highly restrictive terms on December 23, only to have bail revoked on December 31. Subsequent applications for bail under the national security law were denied on the grounds that he might commit further offenses. Lai was arrested again on February 17, 2021, while already in prison for allegedly helping 12 fugitives in their failed attempt to escape Hong Kong for Taiwan.

On April 16, 2021, Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison for the alleged organization of, and participation in, two unauthorized marches in 2019. In December 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years in prison for a lease violation that was then elevated to a fraud charge and subsequently investigated by China’s national security police, prosecuted by a national security prosecutor, and tried by a national security judge. A conviction in the ongoing national security case, scheduled for trial in September 2023, could result in a sentence of life in prison.

In recognition of his courageous and unwavering defense of democracy, economic liberty, and freedom of expression even in the face of harassment, arrest, and incarceration, the Cato Institute is honored to award the 2023 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty to Jimmy Lai.

The Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty, named in honor of perhaps the greatest champion of liberty in the 20th century, is presented every other year to an individual who has made a significant contribution to advance human freedom. Save the date for the 2023 Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty Biennial Dinner on May 18, 2023 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.

The late Nobel laureate Milton Friedman agreed in 2001 to lend his name to the prize, which has become the leading international award for acknowledging contributions to the promotion of individual liberty. In a statement at the time he said: “Those of us who were fortunate enough to live and be raised in a reasonably free society tend to underestimate the importance of freedom. We tend to take it for granted. It has made us in the West more complacent, so having a prize emphasizing liberty is extremely important.” Dr. Friedman died in 2006.