The daughter of imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai told those gathered at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast that her father believes his life “is no longer about me, but God,” as she shared how his commitment to his faith remains strong despite the difficulties he faces.
The 2026 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast took place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Thursday, where written messages from Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump were read, and attendees heard speeches from political and religious leaders, and famous entertainers.
Claire Lai detailed the challenges her father has experienced over the past six years and how his unwavering faith in Jesus Christ has endured despite them.
“In his words, ‘I should stop thinking about myself. My life is no longer about me, but God. Difficult, no doubt. I must try to get into the mindset of self-denial. This is the way to get to the presence of the Lord. God help me. If I have God, God alone is enough.’”
“At the age of 12, he fulfilled his dream of escaping Communist China for British Hong Kong. He flourished there and had a true rags-to-riches story,” she said. “When he came to America many years later, he learned about freedom and saw the truths of many of the values he learned here reflected in his own life. He wrote in a letter to me that he was always guided by the Holy Spirit, even before he knew it.”
Lai added that in 1997, her family first entered the Catholic Church, which was the same year the United Kingdom handed Hong Kong back to China.
“It was a year when many like him, accustomed to the freedoms Hong Kong offered, had their hearts filled with fear and doubts,” she recalled. “So, my father turned to Christ. His doubts were conquered by God’s mercy and grace and turned into trust. Even now, there is nothing he wants more than to be a faithful servant to our Lord.”
Lai’s predicament started in 2020, nearly six years ago, when “Beijing imposed draconian and arbitrary national security law in Hong Kong.”
“One month after its enactment, my father was arrested, and later the same year, he was tried. He has been incarcerated and in solitary confinement ever since. Last month, my father was sentenced to 20 years in prison.”
“As one would expect, five years of solitary confinement have taken their toll on my father’s health. His diabetes is poorly managed, he suffers from heart conditions, infections and a myriad of health issues. He is kept in a small dark cell with no direct access to fresh air or sunlight,” she said.
Lai also lamented that her father has been denied access to the Eucharist, the sacrament of reconciliation and mass for the majority of his imprisonment.
Yet, she expressed gratitude that the challenges her father has faced haven’t negatively impacted his belief in God: “The denial of these sacraments has not stopped him from finding ways to serve our Lord, performing humble acts to grow in virtue. He finds strength in joining his suffering with Christ’s suffering on the cross and has found joy in offering up his suffering and prayer for friends, acquaintances, strangers and even those who have wronged him.”
“Growing up, I was reminded by my parents that everything is grace. My father’s experience consistently reminds me that suffering is also grace. It helps us find the way to the foot of the cross on Calvary,” she added.
Lai’s remarks also touched upon her optimism that her father might be released from prison: “I stand before you with a hopeful spirit. Our family is encouraged and deeply humbled to have found that deep well of support in America, a land for which my father and our whole family has such a deep admiration for.”
“The president and his administration have an impressive, proven track record of freeing those wrongly detained around the world. It is our hope that, with God’s help, they will also succeed in freeing Jimmy Lai,” she concluded.
Thursday was not the first time Lai’s name came up at a National Catholic Prayer Breakfast. At the 2021 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, Lai received the Christifideles Laici Award in absentia in recognition of his efforts “to stir and promote a deeper awareness among all the faithful of the gift and responsibility they share, both as a group and as individuals, in the communion and mission of the Church.”