Hong Kong Watch welcomes UK Parliamentarians’ report on Jimmy Lai and the crackdown on media freedom in Hong Kong
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hong Kong in the British Parliament today launched a new report following its inquiry into media freedom in Hong Kong and the case of Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily.
The inquiry, to which Hong Kong Watch submitted written and oral evidence, documents the systematic dismantling of Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms since the imposition of the draconian National Security Law.
In their introduction to the report, the APPG Co-Chairs Alistair Carmichael MP and Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle note that “freedom of speech and of media is a prerequisite of a free society” and that “its suppression is always a high priority for autocratic and repressive regimes”. The Chinese Communist Party has been “determined to stamp out freedom of speech, freedom of the media and freedom of assembly” in Hong Kong, they add.
The arrest and imprisonment of Jimmy Lai and the forced closure of Apple Daily “shows autocracy at its worst – ready to seize a private company, shut down its publications and imprison its owner on trumped-up charges.” Such behaviour “flies in the face of international law, and puts China in ongoing and flagrant breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong”, action which “should send shock waves around the world.”
The APPG criticises the British Government for its failure to speak out more for media freedom in Hong Kong or for Mr Lai, a British citizen. “The British Government may not have been completely silent on these developments, but its utterances have been barely a whisper when they should have been loud and clear as a British citizen has been arrested on false charges and incarcerated, probably for life, with no prospect whatsoever of a fair trial,” the group’s Co-Chairs write.
The report makes a range of recommendations, including urging the UK Government to treat the case of Jimmy Lai as “a political priority”, applying pressure for his release and “deeming his current arrest as arbitrary detention”. It calls on the UK to speak out publicly about the case, including “by raising concerns in relation to the issue of the right to a fair trial … and concerns in using frivolous legal proceedings as a means of ‘lawfare’ against Jimmy Lai.”
It also urges the UK to apply targeted sanctions, co-ordinate with other like-minded states, including through the Media Freedom Coalition, to ensure the effective and coordinated implementation of targeted sanctions, provide assistance to journalists targeted in Hong Kong, including by providing them with emergency visas where they do not qualify for the British National Overseas (BNO) scheme, and call for the release of other journalists and pro-democracy activists currently detained in Hong Kong.
Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, spoke at the launch of the report in Parliament today, alongside the head of Mr Lai’s international legal team Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, the UK Bureau Director of Reporters Without Borders Fiona O’Brien, and Hong Kong Watch’s co-founder and Chief Executive Benedict Rogers.
Several Parliamentarians, including Hong Kong Watch’s Patrons Lord Alton of Liverpool and Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC, Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, Bob Seely MP, Tom Randall MP and Shadow Security Minister Holly Lynch MP also attended the launch.
In his remarks at the launch, Benedict Rogers welcomed the report on behalf of Hong Kong Watch, saying:
“I entirely endorse and welcome the recommendations, especially the call on the UK government to prioritise the case of Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, to impose targeted sanctions, and to coordinate with like-minded states.
“I also strongly support the call on the UK to use every opportunity at the United Nations to highlight these issues. China has its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in early 2024 and the process for this begins soon, so I urge civil society groups and member states, especially the UK, to ensure that the dismantling of Hong Kong’s freedoms in general and press freedom in particular, and specifically Jimmy Lai’s case, feature prominently in submissions to the UPR. I also hope relevant UN Special Procedures – especially the rapporteurs on freedom of expression, human rights defenders, arbitrary detention and other rights – are engaged.”
He concluded:
“This report, which follows our report on media freedom in Hong Kong, In the Firing Line, published a year ago, and echoes many of our recommendations, is a valuable manual for action to help free Jimmy Lai and hold those responsible for dismantling Hong Kong’s freedoms accountable.”