NARRATIVE – In Hong Kong, the leading figure of the democratic movement is playing for his freedom against the judges.
« I am Catholic “. These are the first public words spoken by Jimmy Lai, in a hoarse voice, in court in Kowloon, after four years of imprisonment in Hong Kong, on November 20. With a weathered face, the imposing billionaire takes an oath before God and the judges wearing English Whig wigs, like a wrestling wrestler on the verge of his final fight. A mischievous smile and a kiss sent by the gesture to his wife Theresa, in a long black dress, and his daughter, seated in the crowded courtroom where Le Figaro slipped. At their side, the frail silhouette of Cardinal Zen, defender of the Catholic faith in the Middle Kingdom who came to support the figurehead of the democratic cause of the former British colony.
All his life, the rebellious tycoon with the gangster face worthy of a Bruce Lee film claims to have fought for “ freedom “. This time, he is playing his part in this river trial which is also that of the democratic aspiration in Hong Kong, and beyond…
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