On December 8, 2025, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, the Catholic world turned its gaze to Hong Kong, where activist and entrepreneur Jimmy Lai marked his 78th birthday in the isolation of a prison cell. For the first time, his daughter, Claire Lai, broke her silence in an interview with EWTN News to testify to her father's heroic perseverance—a man whose life is now a constant prayer amidst persecution.
An Imprisonment Marked by the Cross
Since 2020, Jimmy Lai has endured an incarceration his daughter describes as "tortuous." Accused of colluding with foreign forces under a national security law imposed by the Chinese Communist government, he has awaited a verdict for five years. The conditions of his detention reflect a manifest hatred for human dignity: deprived of sunlight by a deliberately obstructed window, he endures extreme heat reaching 43 degrees Celsius in summer, causing rashes all over his body.
Even more grievous for a faithful Catholic attached to Tradition, Jimmy Lai has been "deprived of Holy Communion" almost systematically for over two years. Despite repeated requests, authorities even deny him the comfort of a physical rosary. However, Claire Lai reports a miracle of grace: when her father, suffering from back pain, fell in the shower and could not get up, he "pretended to have a rosary in his hand and prayed to the Blessed Virgin," instantly regaining the strength to stand.
Conversion as a Shield Against Fear
Jimmy Lai's story is one of manifest Providence. Arriving in Hong Kong at age 12 with nothing, he rose from being a child laborer to a prosperous entrepreneur. His conversion to Catholicism occurred in 1997, during Hong Kong's handover to China, a time when hearts were "filled with doubt and a certain fear." According to his daughter, he understood that "nothing overcomes doubt and fear except the love of God."
Today, this faith is his sole support. Jimmy Lai rises each night around midnight to pray and read the Gospel before dawn, even when guards "refuse to turn on the light" to prevent him. His health is declining rapidly—massive weight loss, persistent infections, and heart palpitations—but his spirit remains "just as strong" thanks to the Lord's guidance.
A Call for Justice and Prayer
The plight of this British citizen has mobilized international bodies. U.S. President Donald Trump has promised to do "everything possible to save" Lai. On the spiritual front, the Lai family received precious support during a general audience in October, where "Pope Leo XIV" assured Jimmy Lai of his prayers.
Claire Lai urges the Chinese government to do the only honorable thing: "release a 78-year-old man against whom no case has been made." She fears her father may die a martyr under these inhumane conditions, but she holds onto hope. Jimmy Lai, for his part, wishes to be remembered as a "faithful servant of Our Lord." For Catholics worldwide, his sacrifice is a brutal reminder of the realities of the suffering Church under the yoke of atheistic communism.