Jimmy Lai, media mogul and entrepreneur, was acquitted last Thursday on the first of several charges he is currently facing from Chinese authorities.
Lai, a Catholic convert, was charged with intimidating a reporter of a rival newspaper, the Oriental Daily, at a Tiananmen Square memorial. Lai’s time in the courthouse was only minutes long, and the case was quickly dismissed for lack of evidence. However, several more serious charges have yet to be dealt with, and their outcomes could have echoing ramifications for both the pro-democracy movement and the Chinese Catholic Church.
The Hong Kong business mogul is the founder of clothing-retailer Giordano, tabloid newspaper Apple Daily and media conglomerate Next Digital. He has been an active and prominent voice in the pro-democracy movement among the citizens of Hong Kong, attending multiple protests and regularly granting interviews on the subject.
Bill McGurn, the godfather of Lai’s children, says that Lai converted to Catholicism in 1997 – just before the handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese Communist Party after more than a century of English rule – Catholic News Agency reported.
Now, a little over a decade after his conversion, Lai has become one of the most important Catholics in China, clergy and laity alike, for his financial support and political activism.
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the de facto leader of China’s “underground” Catholic Church, counts Lai as one of his biggest financial supporters, according to the South China Morning Post. Lai has donated tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars to Zen, who has used the money to maintain church institutions, charities, and social support.
While Lai’s involvement in the pro-democracy movement is the most apparent and publicized aspect of his conflict with the CCP, his participation and support for the Catholic Church within China’s borders is another point of extreme tension.
George Weigel, a friend of Lai, penned a June column in defense of the entrepreneur in which he praised his participation and support for the church.
“I have long felt a kinship with this fellow-Catholic,” Weigel wrote, “a convert who first put his considerable wealth to work in support of important Catholic activities and who is now risking all in support of the pro-democracy movement in Kong Kong.”
Under Chinese law, the Catholic Church is not allowed to operate independently as a religious body. Instead, members of the faith must register under “patriotic” faith organisations, which monitor and report on the behavior of the faithful.
Additionally, previous years have seen disputes over the power to appoint bishops within China, culminating in the excommunication of several state-approved bishops illicitly ordained without the Vatican’s approval.
An agreement signed in 2018 recognised the Holy See as the head of Chinese Catholics, though this nominal agreement has done little to reduce hostilities domestically. Multiple Marian shrines have been destroyed by the CCP, and membership in the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a government body that oversees and steers Chinese Catholic worship, is still largely compulsory.
Lai’s donations to Cardinal Zen have helped the “underground church” – a loosely confederated network of worshippers and clergy that reject government involvement in the faith – to keep themselves and those they serve afloat.
The upcoming charges facing Lai will prove to be a tipping point in the power dynamic held by government-opposition camps throughout China and Hong Kong. It will also impact the future financial solvency and security of the underground churches.
