RSF nominates Jimmy Lai for UNESCO Guillermo Cano Prize
As a tribute to his extraordinary work in defending press freedom in Hong Kong, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has nominated Jimmy Lai, the Apple Daily publisher facing life in prison on bogus charges, for the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
The Guillermo Cano Prize has been awarded annually since 1997 to a person or organisation which makes an outstanding contribution to the defence or promotion of press freedom, especially in the face of danger. RSF has nominated Jimmy Lai for the 2025 edition, as he has remained an outspoken advocate for the right to reliable information in Hong Kong for the past three decades despite immense personal risks.
Jimmy Lai has been jailed since December 2020 following spurious convictions of fraud and illegal assembly. The publisher of now-defunct media Apple Daily — one of the last mainstream publications to criticise the Beijing regime — is now standing trial yet again on false charges, this time for “collusion with foreign forces” and “seditious publications” under the National Security Law, which could keep him behind bars for life. The trial, originally scheduled to last 80 days and conducted without a jury, has already exceeded 130 days due to repeated delays, and the prosecution’s cross-examination is still ongoing.
“Jimmy Lai dedicated his life to defending the freedom of the press, and he worked to uphold that value for three decades through his independent media outlet Apple Daily. The Chinese regime, seeing his outlet as a threat to its power, arrested him and kept him in inhuman conditions for four years. Now 77, he could face death if sentenced under trumped-up charges. Lai fully deserves the Cano jury’s recognition of his outstanding efforts in support of the right to information and lifelong support for journalistic values.
Four years in solitary confinement have taken a physical toll on the publisher, who has diabetes. In November 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Jimmy Lai was unlawfully and arbitrarily detained and called for his immediate release. The European Parliament also adopted four resolutions calling for the release of Jimmy Lai and denouncing the deterioration of media freedom in the territory.
Hong Kong is ranked 135th in the 2024 RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index, having plummeted from 18th place in the last two decades. China itself ranks 172nd of the 180 countries and territories surveyed.
