On January 30, Mark Clifford came to the Busch School of Business to talk about his new biography of Jimmy Lai, now in prison in Hong Kong, called “The Troublemaker.” Lai is the founder of a newspaper that was shut down by the Hong Kong government because it advocated for freedom.  Clifford is also a journalist, an American who lived and worked in Hong Kong for over two decades and was serving on Lai’s board when the paper was shut down.  Today he serves as the president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, which advocates for Jimmy Lai and all the other political prisoners in Hong Kong.  

Jimmy Lai is a pro-democracy activist and Catholic convert who is now on trial for national security charges in Stanley Prison, Hong Kong.  He arrived in Hong Kong as a child refugee from China, and worked long hours and slept in factories, emphasizing no work was beneath him.  He became an entrepreneur, starting out in the fashion industry. Later he founded Apple Daily, a newspaper that championed what he saw as the reasons for Hong Kong’s success–freedom and the rule of law. Lai backed the popular pro-democracy movement, which eventually led to his arrest on August 10, 2020.  His arrest was all the more inspiring because he owned many properties abroad he could have fled to. But Lai saw fleeing as betraying the people of Hong Kong. Jail was his cross to bear, and his Catholic faith gave him the strength to endorse. After four years in jail–most of them spent in solitary confinement–and abandonment by many foreign friends and colleagues, he continues to stand up for his principles.

“Jimmy Lai just marked his 1,500th day of political imprisonment in Hong Kong - incredible and disheartening in what used to be a flourishing democracy,” said Busch School international business professor and vice dean Dr. Anthony Cannizzaro, “Equally incredible though is the passion I’ve seen from students and business leaders in support of Jimmy’s cause”. 

Lai’s story was explained more in depth during the discussion with Clifford.  The audience, at least half of which were students, was encouraged to ask questions. One student asked what the Vatican was doing to help free Jimmy Lai, to which Clifford responded that the Holy See’s lack of action was “disappointing.” He noted that President Trump has promised to secure Jimmy’s release.

“The Jimmy Lai event was very eye-opening. I knew some things about Jimmy Lai, such as that he was an extremely successful entrepreneur, but not about his civil rights work,” said Dylan Esser ‘26. “It opened my eyes and was truly informative and I enjoyed it very much.”