The conviction of 78 year-old British citizen, Hong Kong entrepreneur and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai yesterday on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign powers and one charge of conspiracy to publish seditious publications is one of the great travesties of our time. It was yet another dark day for Hong Kong and a direct assault on the values of freedom, human rights and the rule of law.
It was not, however, a surprise. Ever since Lai was arrested and jailed five years ago on multiple other trumped-up charges, and ever since his trial under Hong Kong’s draconian national security law began two years ago, the verdict has been predetermined. It was a bogus trial in a kangaroo court in a repressive police state. Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily which was forcibly shut down in 2021, has been jailed for – as the head of his international legal team Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC puts it – the crimes of conspiracy to commit journalism, conspiracy to discuss politics with politicians, and conspiracy to talk about human rights with human rights activists.
Without concerted global action, Jimmy Lai will die in prison
The fact that communications between Lai and various foreigners were presented in court as evidence of his crimes illustrates the Alice in Wonderland absurdity of this charade. I have apparently been named at least 95 times in the judgment and my friend Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, 161 times. For what? Talking to Lai. What were the contents of my communications? In essence, three topics: freedom, journalism, and Catholicism. Not exactly criminal acts in most normal societies.
But Hong Kong today is no longer normal and is certainly not free, as proven by yesterday’s verdict. What you write, what you like, what you wear, what you sing, who you meet, what you believe, and what you say can be a crime if you are not careful.
By going after Lai with such vindictiveness, the Chinese Communist party is sending a message that no one is safe. If they can convict a well-known, well-connected and wealthy entrepreneur for his opinions in a sham trial, they can pursue anyone. Lai has already been in solitary confinement for over 1,800 days, denied his first choice of legal counsel, denied independent medical care of his choice, and denied the right – as a Catholic – to receive Holy Communion. He and his family have already endured five years of hell – and now they face the prospect of his death in jail.
Lai’s health is deteriorating. He is a diabetic who has been denied natural light in his prison cell and is permitted less than an hour a day for exercise in a confined space. In September, his son Sebastien, together with his international legal team, submitted a new urgent appeal to United Nations (UN) experts – the special rapporteur on torture, the special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and the special rapporteur on the right to health – in relation to the serious and immediate risk to Lai’s life posed by his ongoing detention. Earlier this month, his daughter Claire highlighted further concerns about Lai’s health condition, including dramatic weight loss.
Lai’s imprisonment was declared arbitrary and unlawful by the United Nations working group on arbitrary detention, which called for his immediate release, as did five UN special rapporteurs. On January 31, 2024 the UN announced that the special rapporteur on torture had written to the authorities in China to address claims that the evidence of a key prosecution witness in Lai’s trial had been obtained through torture. They then called for an immediate investigation into the allegations.
Such declarations by UN bodies are helpful. But now the real work begins. It is the responsibility of UN member states – especially the United Kingdom, given that Lai is a British citizen – to pull out all the stops to secure his release. Strong statements – such as the Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper’s yesterday, which accused Beijing of using its national security law ‘to silence China’s critics’ in Hong Kong – are no longer enough. Empty hand-wringing is marginally better than nothing, but it would be enhanced by a strategy for action. As the last governor of Hong Kong, Lord Patten of Barnes, put it yesterday, ‘I hope that all in the rest of the world who believe in freedom will call frequently and loudly for his release from captivity.’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer must lead the charge. If his visit to Beijing goes ahead as reported in January, then top of the agenda must be to demand and secure Lai’s release on medical grounds. He must make any trade deals, and any agreement on the controversial new Chinese embassy in London, conditional upon his immediate release and his right – should he and his family choose to do so – to leave Hong Kong.
The United States must back this up. President Trump has said that he would secure Lai’s release. Now, he must match his words with action. Other democracies – from the European Union to Canada, Australia, Japan and beyond – must also weigh in.
Lai’s sentence is expected in the coming weeks. Whether he receives the minimum ten-year term or a life sentence, thanks to Lai’s age and with his current deteriorating health, it amounts to the same. Without concerted global action, led by Starmer, Jimmy Lai will die in prison – and his death will be on the Prime Minister’s conscience.
Today, the United Kingdom must act to save the life and secure the freedom of one of its citizens, and should mobilise its allies across the free world to support it. The life of one individual is at stake. But the values upon which our civilisation is built also hang in the balance.
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