Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is a Hong Kong media tycoon, founder of the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily newspaper, and prominent pro-democracy activist. Born in mainland China, he fled to Hong Kong at age 12, where he worked as a child laborer in a garment factory earning US$8 monthly, self-taught English from discarded books and the Bible, and rose to become a factory manager. In 1981, he founded the clothing retailer Giordano International, expanding it across Asia before selling his stake in 1996 amid pressures from China following his public criticism of the Chinese Communist Party and Premier Li Peng. In 1990, he established Next Media (later Next Digital), launching Apple Daily in 1995, which reached a circulation of around 400,000 and became a key voice in Hong Kong's democratic movement, also expanding to Taiwan. A practicing Catholic and British citizen since 1994, Lai has faced escalating reprisals including commercial boycotts, physical assaults, petrol bomb attacks on his home and offices, and mainland China bans. Arrested in August 2020 under the national security law, he has been detained in solitary confinement at Stanley Prison in Hong Kong at his own request. Convicted of fraud in 2022 (overturned in 2026), unauthorized assemblies, and in 2026 sentenced to 20 years for sedition and collusion with foreign forces, Lai testified to lobbying for U.S. sanctions. Married to Teresa since 1991 after divorcing first wife Judy, he has several children and a twin sister, Lai Si-wai.