The Brit standing up to China: can Starmer save Jimmy Lai?
The Story
The Times
4 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 22 August 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Pro-democracy campaigner, media mogul and British citizen Jimmy Lai has been imprisoned in China for five years and on trial for two. As the closing statements are made, what will happen to one of China’s most prominent critics? And can the UK government - or Donald Trump - step in to free him?
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Guest: Cindy Yu, Columnist and Contributing Editor, The Times and The Sunday Times.
Host: Manveen Rana.
Producer: Olivia Case.
Clips: BBC, Hoover Institute / YouTube, Sky, The Guardian, CNN, FOX, AP, Max Media, Asia, The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai's Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom / Ron Holwerda / Acton Institute.
Photo: Getty Images.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From The Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. |
| 0:06.1 | I'm Manvine Rana. |
| 0:10.5 | Six years ago, Hong Kong was in the throes of explosive pro-democracy protests |
| 0:16.5 | and a violent police crackdown. |
| 0:26.3 | Why? and a violent police crackdown. Protesters had taken to the streets in fury |
| 0:29.0 | China's attempts to clamp down on their democratic rights. |
| 0:33.3 | Marching toward government headquarters, |
| 0:35.8 | some in yellow shirts, others carrying yellow umbrellas. |
| 0:39.3 | They've become symbols of a pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. |
| 0:43.7 | At the centre of those protests was the six-foot, bear-like billionaire media mogul and British citizen, |
| 0:51.9 | Jimmy Lai. They are tearing up the basic law in front of the world. |
| 0:57.5 | How can we trust what they say? |
| 1:00.7 | This will destroy Hong Kong. |
| 1:06.7 | Like so many of the protesters, |
| 1:09.5 | Lai was arrested and put on trial, and as that trial concludes |
| 1:14.0 | next week, he could be facing life in prison. |
| 1:18.2 | But might the UK government be able to save him? |
| 1:21.4 | Kier Stahmer's latest comments saying it's a priority for the UK government. |
| 1:25.1 | We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai's deterioration in prison. |
| 1:29.2 | Could Donald Trump intervene? |
| 1:31.6 | I think talking about Jimmy Lai is a very good idea. |
| 1:34.7 | We'll put it down or we'll put it down the spot of the negotiation. |
... |
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