The daughter of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai has raised serious concerns about her father’s deteriorating health in prison, saying his fingernails sometimes fall off and his teeth are rotting.
Lai, 78, has been detained since December 2020 and is facing a potential life sentence. Earlier this month, he was convicted of colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s controversial National Security Law (NSL).
Speaking to the BBC, Lai’s daughter, Claire Lai, who lives in exile in London, said she fears she may never see her father again.
“I worry that my father is going to be a martyr, and I don’t want him to be a martyr,” she said. “But I wouldn’t be speaking out if I didn’t believe this was his best chance of reuniting with our family.”
Claire described her father as physically strong when he was first imprisoned, but said his condition has declined sharply over the past year.
“He has lost a significant amount of weight. He is diabetic now, has heart problems he never had before, and suffers from severe back and waist pain,” she said. “Some days he can’t stand, and some days he can’t even get out of bed.”
She added that his fingernails have turned purplish-grey and sometimes fall off, while his teeth are decaying.
Concerns about Lai’s health have been raised repeatedly by his family. Earlier this year, his son Sebastien said his father’s “body is breaking down”.
However, Chinese authorities have denied claims of mistreatment. A spokesperson for the Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong said Lai’s “lawful rights and interests have been fully protected” and that he is in “good health”.
They added that Lai is being held in a “safe, humane, appropriate and healthy custodial environment in accordance with the law”.
The BBC has seen a letter written by Lai’s family urging UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to raise Lai’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping during an upcoming meeting. Starmer’s planned visit to China in late January 2026 will be the first by a UK prime minister since 2018.
Lai, a British citizen, is the most high-profile individual charged under the NSL, which was introduced in 2020 following mass pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. Beijing has defended the law as necessary to restore stability, while critics argue it has effectively silenced political dissent.
In addition to the NSL conviction, Lai was also found guilty under a colonial-era law of publishing seditious material through his now-defunct newspaper, Apple Daily.
Following the conviction, the UK government condemned the ruling as “politically motivated persecution”, saying Lai had been targeted for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.
China has rejected such criticism, accusing Western governments of interfering in its judicial system and applying double standards.
