Everyone in the global fight for liberty has some item that cultivated his intellectual palate. For Chinese dissident Jimmy Lai, it was a candy bar. As an eight-year-old boy, he worked as a baggage carrier in a railway station in his native mainland China. After he carried the bag of a visitor from Hong Kong, the man gave the future billionaire a piece of chocolate. “It was amazing,” he says. Eating that delectable sweet made him believe “Hong Kong must be Heaven, because I’ve never tasted anything like that.” One bite of that confection gave him a taste for freedom. At the age of 12, he...
Overview
On November 18, the Acton Institute awarded its Faith and Freedom Award to Jimmy Lai, the outspoken Catholic dissident who has dedicated his Hong Kong-based media empire to exposing Chinese repression. More about Jimmy Lai: http://acton.is/LaiFaithFreedom
The Faith and Freedom Award was established as part of the Acton Institute’s tenth anniversary celebration in 2000. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies commitment to faith and freedom through outstanding leadership in civic, business, or religious life. For this award, the Institute commissioned a sculpture of Lord Acton, the Institute’s namesake, who held firmly to the two pillars of faith and freedom.
