Book Forum 

# *The Troublemaker*

### *How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic* 

Published By Free Press • 2024 

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Date and Time 

March 12, 2025 12 - 1:30 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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##### Featuring 

![Mark Clifford portrait](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-02/mark-clifford-circle.jpg?itok=OGdHmK3Q) 

Mark Clifford 

Author and President, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation

![Sebastien Lai portrait ](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-02/Sebastien-Lai-circle.jpg?itok=mzp0O1HV) 

Sebastien Lai 

Son of Jimmy Lai

![Mark Simon portrait](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2025-02/Mark-Simon-circle.jpg?itok=Hxw6sHYB) 

Mark Simon 

Former Group Director, Next Digital Companies

[![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=yBS_mzpm)](/people/ian-vasquez) 

[Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez)

Vice President for International Studies, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/vasquezian) [ 

](mailto:ivasquez@cato.org) 

Jimmy Lai became China’s most prominent political prisoner when he was arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges after Hong Kong imposed its draconian security law in mid-2020. Mark Clifford will tell Lai’s story of escaping China to Hong Kong as a boy, becoming a successful entrepreneur in the fashion industry, and founding and running the wildly popular *Apple Daily* newspaper and *Next* magazine to criticize China’s Communist Party and advocate for democracy in Hong Kong. The author will discuss why Lai became a stalwart champion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien, and Mark Simon will discuss the importance of Lai’s activism, the state of his current national security trial, and any prospects for Lai’s own freedom.

**Lunch to follow.**

![The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong’s Greatest Dissident, and China’s Most Feared Critic - book promo](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block_book_cover_1x/public/2025-02/thetroublemaker-promoblock-img.jpg?itok=-Dzkj6_J) 

##### Featured Book 

### *[The Troublemaker](https://www.amazon.com/Troublemaker-Became-Billionaire-Greatest-Dissident-ebook/dp/B0CV2FF8XQ?tag=catoinstitute-20)*

Jimmy Lai escaped mainland China when he was twelve years old, at the height of a famine that killed tens of millions. In Hong Kong, he hustled and often slept overnight on a table in a clothing factory where he did odd jobs. At twenty-one, he was running a factory. By his mid-twenties, he owned one and was supplying sweaters and shirts to some of the biggest brands in the United States, from Polo to The Limited.

[Purchase Book](https://www.amazon.com/Troublemaker-Became-Billionaire-Greatest-Dissident-ebook/dp/B0CV2FF8XQ?tag=catoinstitute-20) 

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