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CV NEWS FEED // Chinese media mogul and Catholic convert Jimmy Lai has been named a 2025 recipient of a U.S.-based foundation’s award in recognition of his advocacy for freedom of the press.
Lai is unable to accept the award in person because he is currently imprisoned by the Chinese Communist Party, which has kept him in solitary confinement for more than four years on accusations that he violated a controversial national security law.
This month, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation announced Lai is an honorary winner of the 2025 Bradley Prize, which recognizes those whose work embodies the nonprofit’s “mission to restore, strengthen, and protect the principles and institutions of American exceptionalism and honors the ideals of the Western tradition.”
Lai, 77, is a citizen of the United Kingdom who founded several companies, including independent news publication Apple Daily, which the Hong Kong government shut down in 2021, as CatholicVote previously reported. Lai appeared in court in November 2024. Several months earlier, according to Reuters, he pleaded not guilty to the charges levied against him. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
In a statement, Bradley Foundation President Rick Graber noted that Lai could have fled China before his arrest but chose to stay and stand up for the truth.
“Jimmy’s extraordinary courage and deeply held beliefs in journalistic integrity, human dignity and democracy are an inspiration to all who value freedom,” Graber said. “His advocacy against oppressive, authoritarian rule put him at risk. Yet instead of fleeing Hong Kong under increasing pressure by the Chinese Communist regime to silence his views, he stayed and continued to advocate for truth and transparency.”
CatholicVote previously reported that in the foreword of a 2024 book about Lai’s life, Soviet Gulag Natan Sharansky recounted a conversation he had with Lai in 2020 before the arrest. Sharansky had asked Lai why he was not fleeing.
“I can’t do it,” Lai replied. “I called my people to fight. They look at me. I can’t let them down.”
Lai’s son Sebastien will receive the Bradley Award on his father’s behalf May 29 in Washington, D.C. In a statement, Sebastien hailed his father both as a beloved family member and as a hero to many around the world.
“The Bradley Prize is a testament to his commitment to truth and freedom, made evident in his tremendous self-sacrifice,” Sebastien said. “From a tiny prison cell in Hong Kong, he continues to stand strong against the world’s largest and most powerful totalitarian regime. Thank you for reminding the world that his cause is not lost — good people must now fight for his freedom as he fought for theirs.”
>> Jimmy Lai’s son speaks out on harsh conditions of father’s Hong Kong imprisonment <<
2023 Bradley Prize recipient Nina Shea, an American human rights lawyer and director of the Center for Religious Freedom at the Hudson Institute, recently spotlighted Lai’s story.
In an April 10 National Review article, Shea described Lai as “the global face of those repressed in China.”
She pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to censor Lai have backfired on a global level, as the Bradley Prize is the latest of a string of honors given to Lai since his imprisonment. He has received nominations from Congress members for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. He also has an honorary degree from The Catholic University of America.
“Beijing is turning Jimmy Lai into a political martyr,” Shea wrote. “His story of suffering for freedom is not only inspirational. It, ironically, has drawn the world’s attention to the very oppression the CCP tries so mightily to cover up.”
