Hong Kong’s swift descent into repression, after the People’s Republic of China reneged on its promises to protect Hong Kong’s political and economic freedoms, is on painful display in the ongoing trial of pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai.
Lai, the 77-year-old media mogul and founder of the now shuttered, outspoken newspaper Apple Daily, was charged in December 2020 under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law with “collusion with foreign countries or external elements.” He has since also been charged with sedition.
Denied bail and jailed since December 31, 2020, Jimmy Lai faces a sentence of life imprisonment after a trial before a panel of judges approved by Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing leader.
With such an example in the public eye of the PRC’s assault on the rights and freedoms of the people of Hong Kong, President Joe Biden announced the United States is providing Hong Kongers who remain concerned about returning to Hong Kong with temporary safe haven in the United States. Under the extension, the U.S. will defer the enforced departure of eligible Hong Kong residents through February 5, 2027.
In a statement published January 15, President Biden noted, “Since June 2020, at least 200 opposition politicians, activists, and protesters have been taken into custody on politically motivated NSL [National Security Law]-related charges, including secession, subversion, terrorist activities and collusion with a foreign country or external elements. On November 19, 2024, Hong Kong authorities also sentenced 45 pro-democracy advocates to prison for their peaceful participation in political activities protected under the Basic Law of Hong Kong.”
In a separate statement about the deferral, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller added “the ongoing national security trial of democracy advocate and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai” to the list of “Beijing and Hong Kong authorities’ continued and repeated attacks on the protected rights and freedoms cherished by people in Hong Kong.”
As President Biden said, “The United States is committed to a foreign policy that unites our democratic values with our foreign policy goals, which is centered on the defense of democracy and the promotion of human rights around the world. Offering safe haven for Hong Kong residents who have been deprived of their guaranteed freedoms in Hong Kong furthers United States interests in the region. The United States,” he declared, “will continue to stand firm in our support of the people in Hong Kong.”