Bill McGurne

McGurn of the Wall Street Journal called this man, quote, a good man, willing to give up everything except his principles, even if it means trading in life as a billionaire for the prison cell of a Chinese dissident.

Close quote.

With me today, the Hong Kong publisher and democracy advocate now charged with violating the new security law that mainland China has imposed on Hong Kong.

Jimmy Lai.

Thank you, Pierre.

Thank you, Jimmy.

Jimmy, let me introduce you.

Welcome to uncommon knowledge. I'm Peter Robinson. An introduction of Jimmy Lye. A native of mainland China, Jimmy, reached Hong Kong in a fishing boat as a stowaway at the age of 12. By the time he was in his 20s he owned his own garment

factory and by the time he was in his 30s he had established the international clothing company

Giordano. After the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, Mr. Lai founded a media company to publish pro-democracy

magazines and newspapers in Hong Kong and then in Taiwan.

In the democracy protests that swept Hong Kong last year, Mr. Lai, now in his 70s,

insisted on marching in front where the authorities could see him.

The last time we spoke this past spring, Mr. Lai

vigorously opposed the new national security law that Beijing was then

threatening to impose on Hong Kong. At the beginning of this summer, Beijing did impose the new law,

imposed it.

Hong Kong was not given a chance to read the text

until the law was put into effect. And then on August 10th, some 200 police raided Mr. Lye's offices,

handcuffed him, and then before taking him away, walked him around the floor of his newsroom so that all his journalists would see what was happening.

Now out of prison on bail Mr. Lye is awaiting trial.

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