Sir John Whittingdale, MP for Maldon met Sebastian Lai in Parliament with his lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers to discuss his father, Jimmy Lai’s, unjust imprisonment at the hands of the Chinese State in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai is a 77-year-old British national and a renowned pro-democracy campaigner, journalist and media owner. His peaceful pro-democracy activism in Hong Kong has led to his now four-year long imprisonment at the hands of the CCP. For the last 12 months he has been on trial in Hong Kong for spurious charges of sedition and national security violations. Mr Lai’s situation is unfortunately all too symbolic of the crackdown on media freedom and erosion of free speech and civil liberties that has emerged in Hong Kong since the handover.
Sebastian explained to Sir John that his father’s case is becoming increasingly urgent. His health as a 77-year-old diabetic has significantly deteriorated in the years since his arrest, having been subject to solitary confinement for over four years now and enduring insufferable heat during the summer months. To make matters worse, his trial has been inexplicably delayed on numerous occasions and has now been adjourned until 14th August. This will inevitably put further strain on Mr Lai’s already fragile condition.
Both UN and independent human rights experts, religious leaders and a broad international coalition including the UK, United States, Australia, Canada, and the European Parliament, have all collectively called for Mr Lai’s immediate release.
Urgent and strategic action in the UK is crucial to achieving this. Sir John will do all he can as Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Media Freedom to coordinate and spur a cross-party effort. Parliamentarians in the UK must maintain pressure on the Chinese Government and hold the UK Government to account in its commitment to bringing Jimmy Lai home to London.
Sir John is pictured below with Sebastian Lai
