记者：李聪玲
编辑：胡丽莉
责任编辑：张致君
翻译：吕峰
2025年8月16日下午，中国民主党全国委员会联合洛杉矶港台专项声援组，在中共驻洛杉矶总领馆门口举行集会，声援仍被羁押的香港媒体人黎智英。活动主题为“Free Jimmy Lai”，吸引了民主人士及多位关心自由与人权的海外华人前来参加。集会于下午3时30分正式开始，会场悬挂着“黎智英无罪”“释放黎智英”的标语，并摆放印有黎智英肖像的大型横幅。与会者高喊口号，呼吁国际社会关注黎智英案件及香港民主运动的处境。
主持人王尊福首先介绍了黎智英的生平与贡献。黎智英生于广东，少年时期偷渡赴港，从基层纺织工人一步步成长为成功企业家。他在上世纪九十年代创办壹传媒与《苹果日报》，长期坚持敢言敢写、揭露权贵腐败，是香港新闻自由的重要象征。黎智英不仅是企业家，更是民主运动坚定的支持者。他支持“反送中”运动，多次公开批评中共专制。2020年港版国安法实施后，黎智英遭到拘捕，其创办的《苹果日报》被迫停刊，成为香港新闻自由遭受重创的标志性事件。
主持人王灵特别提到，黎智英目前的案件正在进入关键阶段。本应在8月15日完成的结案陈词，因黎智英在庭上出现心悸与身体不稳的症状，被迫延至8月18日继续进行。法官已要求为他配戴心脏监测仪并服药接受治疗。事实上，自2020年被捕至今，他已在狭小阴暗的环境中被羁押超过五年，其中多数时间被单独监禁，健康急剧恶化，体重骤降，昔日“肥佬黎”的身影已不复存在。如果法院认定他“串谋勾结外国势力”罪名成立，他将面临最高无期徒刑。对于77岁的黎智英而言，这几乎等同于“死在狱中”。然而，他始终坚持：“没有自由的生命，只是苟活。”宁愿“站着死，也不愿跪着生”。
在随后的发言环节，多位与会人士先后登台表达声援之意。郑敏指出，黎智英的遭遇正是香港沦陷于极权统治的缩影，国际社会不能沉默。马群表示，中共的重判是对全世界新闻自由的威胁，必须以行动声援。黄吉洲强调，黎智英无罪，他所坚持的只是言论自由与普世价值。陀先润则呼吁国际社会持续对中共施压，要求无条件释放所有良心犯。李延龙表示，支持黎智英，就是支持全体华人追求自由的权利。姚庆古在发言中提到，黎智英选择坚守真理与自由，不仅是为香港，更是为整个华人社会点燃希望的火炬。
活动现场中国民主党党员们高举横幅“坚持民主理念，争取自由未来”，强调海外民主力量不会屈服于中共的威胁打压。发起人赵杰表示：黎智英的遭遇提醒世人，今日香港的牢笼，可能成为明日全中国的现实。唯有团结，坚持抗争，才能迎来真正的自由。
本次活动由王灵、赵杰发起，中国民主党全国委员会主办，洛杉矶港台专项声援组协办；倪世成担任活动负责人；张致君、韩震担任策划；王灵、王尊福与赵杰共同主持；摄影由陀先润与卓皓然负责；摄像由苏一峰负责；李聪玲担任本次活动义工负责人，李延龙等人参与义工工作。
集会最后在“释放黎智英”的口号声中结束。参与者纷纷表示，将继续推动国际关注黎智英的案件，坚守新闻自由与民主价值，直至黎智英以及所有被不公囚禁的政治犯获得自由的那一天。
Los Angeles Rally in Support of Jimmy Lai
Reporter: Li Congling Editor: Hu LiliManaging Editor: Zhang Zhijun Translation: Lyu Feng
On the afternoon of August 16, 2025, the China Democracy Party National Committee, together with the Los Angeles Hong Kong–Taiwan Solidarity Group, held a rally in front of the Chinese Consulate General in Los Angeles to support Hong Kong media figure Jimmy Lai, who remains in detention.
The event, themed “Free Jimmy Lai,” drew democracy advocates and many overseas Chinese concerned about freedom and human rights. The rally officially began at 3:30 p.m., with banners reading “Jimmy Lai Is Innocent” and “Release Jimmy Lai” displayed alongside a large banner bearing his portrait. Participants chanted slogans, calling on the international community to pay close attention to Jimmy Lai’s case and the plight of the Hong Kong democracy movement.
At the rally, host Wang Zunfu first introduced the life and contributions of Jimmy Lai. Born in Guangdong, Lai smuggled into Hong Kong as a teenager and rose from a grassroots textile worker to a successful entrepreneur. In the 1990s, he founded Next Digital and Apple Daily, both of which became symbols of Hong Kong’s press freedom through their fearless reporting and exposure of corruption among the powerful. Lai was not only a businessman but also a staunch supporter of the pro-democracy movement. He openly supported the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Movement and repeatedly criticized the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarian rule. After the imposition of the Hong Kong National Security Law in 2020, Lai was arrested, and Apple Daily was forced to shut down—an event widely seen as a devastating blow to press freedom in Hong Kong.
Host Wang Ling specifically emphasized that Lai’s trial is now entering a critical stage. The closing arguments, originally scheduled for August 15, had to be postponed to August 18 due to Lai experiencing heart palpitations and physical instability in court. The judge has ordered him to wear a cardiac monitor and take prescribed medication. Since his arrest in 2020, Lai has spent more than five years in detention under harsh conditions, most of which in solitary confinement. His health has deteriorated sharply, and his once robust figure—nicknamed “Fat Lai”—has wasted away. If convicted of “conspiring to collude with foreign forces,” he faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. For the 77-year-old Lai, this is tantamount to a “death in prison.” Yet, he has stood firm, insisting: “A life without freedom is merely survival.” He would “rather die standing than live kneeling.”
During the speeches that followed, several participants voiced their support. Zheng Min pointed out that Lai’s ordeal epitomizes Hong Kong’s fall into authoritarian rule, and that the international community must not remain silent. Ma Qun stressed that Beijing’s heavy sentencing poses a threat to global press freedom, and that concrete action is needed in solidarity. Huang Jizhou reaffirmed that Lai is innocent and that what he upholds is simply free speech and universal values. Tuo Xianrun urged the international community to maintain pressure on Beijing and demand the unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience. Li Yanlong declared that supporting Jimmy Lai means supporting the Chinese people’s right to pursue freedom. Yao Qinggu highlighted that Lai’s choice to stand firm for truth and liberty was not only for Hong Kong, but also to ignite hope for the entire Chinese community.
At the scene, members of the China Democracy Party raised banners reading “Uphold Democratic Ideals, Strive for a Free Future,” stressing that the overseas democracy movement will not bow to Beijing’s threats and repression. Organizer Zhao Jie remarked: “Jimmy Lai’s plight is a reminder to the world: the prison of Hong Kong today could become the reality of all China tomorrow. Only through unity and persistent resistance can true freedom be achieved.”
This event was initiated by Wang Ling and Zhao Jie, hosted by the China Democracy Party National Committee and co-organized by the Los Angeles Hong Kong–Taiwan Solidarity Group. Ni Shicheng served as the event director; Zhang Zhijun and Han Zhen were in charge of planning; the rally was jointly hosted by Wang Ling, Wang Zunfu, and Zhao Jie. Photography was handled by Tuo Xianrun and Zhuo Haoran; videography by Su Yifeng. Li Congling served as volunteer coordinator, with Li Yanlong and others assisting in volunteer work.
