The United States strongly condemns the prosecution of pro-democracy advocate and media owner Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.
Lai is being prosecuted under the draconian National Security Law, or NSL, imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing after protests swept the city in 2019. The people of Hong Kong took to the streets by the thousands to protest the restrictions on their fundamental freedoms and political autonomy that was promised to them when Britain turned over the rule of the democratically-run city to the People’s Republic of China in 1997.
Under the NSL, Jimmy Lai is charged with colluding with foreign forces, a crime punishable by life in prison, if convicted.
Originally a poor 12-year-old stow-away on a ship to Hong Kong from the PRC, Lai built a successful clothing empire before founding a series of media outlets, including the popular newspaper Apple Daily, which was shuttered in 2021. A fierce pro-democracy activist and critic of Beijing’s human rights abuses, including violations of religious freedom, Lai was detained by the Hong Kong authorities in 2020 on multiple security-based charges and has been in prison for more than 1,000 days.
Many leaders of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong were detained by the government after the protests in 2019; several others fled abroad. Jimmy Lai chose to stay in Hong Kong.
Lai’s current trial began December 18 before a three-judge panel approved by the government. There is no jury, and the trial is expected to last 80 days. He has not been allowed to hire the lawyer of his choice.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller issued a statement condemning the prosecution of Jimmy Lai under Hong Kong’s National Security Law and noted Lai’s lengthy pre-trial detention and the denial of his choice of legal representation.
“We urge Beijing and Hong Kong authorities to respect press freedom in Hong Kong,” he said. “Actions that stifle press freedom and restrict the free flow of information – as well as Beijing and local authorities’ changes to Hong Kongs’s electoral system that reduce direct voting and preclude independent and pro-democracy party candidates from participating – have undermined Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and harmed Hong Kong’s reputation as an international business and financial hub. We call on Hong Kong authorities,” Spokesperson Miller declared, “to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending human rights.”
