Jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai wins freedom of speech award in Germany

The jailed media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has been awarded Deutsche Welle’s freedom of speech award for his contribution to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. The German public broadcaster said on Thursday that Lai would be presented in absentia with the 12th iteration of the award on 23 June at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn. Deutsche Welle’s director-general, Barbara Massing, praised the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered news outlet Apple Daily for standing “unwaveringly for press freedom in Hong Kong at great personal risk”. She added: “With Apple Daily, he gave journalists a platform for free reporting and a voice to the democracy movement in Hong Kong,” she said. “His commitment reminds us that press freedom is never a given – it must be constantly defended. With the DW freedom of speech award, we honour his indispensable dedication to democratic values.” Lai, a British citizen, was one of Hong Kong’s most prominent and vocal pro-democracy advocates before his imprisonment . He provided financial backing to democratic parties and politicians and took part in mass protests against Beijing’s rule in 2019 and 2020. Authorities arrested Lai in 2020, accusing him of using the Apple Daily and his political connections to lobby for foreign governments to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. A Hong Kong court sentenced him to 20 years in prison in February on charges that include “conspiracy to collaborate with foreign forces” and publishing “seditious material”. …