Detained Hong Kong media publisher and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai was honored with the DW Freedom of Speech Award 2026 at Deutsche Welle’s Global Media Forum in Bonn, recognizing his unwavering commitment to press freedom and democratic values.
As Lai remains imprisoned in Hong Kong, the award was accepted on his behalf by his daughter, Claire Lai, who described her father’s detention as a powerful reminder of the price many journalists and activists pay for speaking truth to power.
Speaking at the ceremony, Claire Lai recalled her father’s vision in founding the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily ahead of Hong Kong’s handover to China. Quoting testimony from his ongoing national security trial, she said Lai believed that “the more information you have, the more you are in the know, the more you are free,” a principle that inspired the creation of the newspaper.
Claire Lai also highlighted the severe impact of more than five years of imprisonment on her father’s health. She said the 79-year-old media entrepreneur suffers from multiple health issues and has spent nearly all of his detention in solitary confinement, leaving him physically weakened.
Paying tribute to Lai, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) CEO Jodie Ginsberg urged journalists and media supporters worldwide to defend the freedoms for which he has sacrificed so much. She emphasized that the fight for press freedom is a collective responsibility and called on audiences to actively stand up for independent journalism.
Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, has become one of the most prominent symbols of the crackdown on press freedom and democratic activism in Hong Kong. Detained since December 2020, he was sentenced in early 2026 to 20 years in prison on charges including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material under Hong Kong’s national security law.
Born in mainland China in 1947, Lai fled to Hong Kong as a child and later built a successful business empire before becoming one of the territory’s most influential advocates for democracy and free expression.
The 2026 award marks the 12th edition of DW’s Freedom of Speech Award, which honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional courage in defending freedom of expression and press freedom worldwide.
The DW Global Media Forum 2026 continues in Bonn with discussions focused on artificial intelligence, media innovation, platform regulation, press freedom, and the future of trusted information in an increasingly complex media environment.
