A top U.S. House member has pledged to work with a coalition of rights groups to be a special advocate for Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong Next Media, and is urging the Hong Kong government to release Lai from prison as soon as possible.
Lai and his newspaper, Apple Daily, which has been out of operation for three years, supported Hong Kong's 2019 pro-democracy movement that was later crushed by China's national security law (NSL) in Hong Kong.
Lai, a British citizen, was arrested on fraud charges in August 2020. He has been in prison and denied bail since December 2020. He also faces charges under Hong Kong's national security law of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" and "conspiracy to publish incitement."
Representative Jamie Raskin, ranking member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, will advocate for Lai through the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project, he announced in a statement first reported by VOA’s Mandarin Service.
“The Chinese Communist Party — like other authoritarian regimes — abuses government power by suppressing and persecuting dissent,” Raskin said in a statement to VOA. “Jimmy Lai’s detention underscores how the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] silences critics to exert power over Hong Kong. I’m proud to sponsor Mr. Lai and demand that the CCP immediately release him and stop attacking pro-democracy advocates.”
No immunity
In a statement in February, the Hong Kong government responded to critics of the Lai case.
“The suggestion that certain individuals or groups should be immune from legal consequences for their illegal acts is no different from advocating a special pass to break the law, and this totally runs contrary to the spirit of the rule of law,” the statement read, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.
The Lantos commission launched the Defending Freedoms Project (DFP) in December 2012, collaborating with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom and Amnesty International USA. It has since expanded to include Reporters Without Borders, Freedom House, Freedom Now, Scholars at Risk, PEN America and the Senate Human Rights Caucus.
According to DFP, members of Congress sponsoring a prisoner receive a detailed toolkit for advocacy, which includes writing letters to prisoners and their families, giving speeches and publishing op-eds. They can also initiate legislative actions, hold discussions or hearings, and petition executive departments like the State Department and the White House for support.
By taking on a case, lawmakers can help secure releases, reduce sentences, improve prison conditions and raise awareness of unjust laws.
According to Raskin, Lai was arrested for his criticism of the Chinese Communist Party through his work as a publisher and pro-democracy advocate.
“At 76 years of age, Lai has been held in prolonged solitary confinement since December 2020, for entirely peaceful conduct, in exercise of his fundamental freedoms. His age and diabetes diagnosis raise serious concerns about his physical well-being. He faces a potential life sentence under the NSL, depending upon the outcome of his current trial,” Raskin said in the statement.
Freedom House applauded the representative for advocating on behalf of Lai and commended his efforts.
“We thank Congressman Raskin for serving as Mr. Lai’s advocate, and we will continue to call for the immediate release of Mr. Lai and all Hong Kong’s political prisoners,” Annie Boyajian, vice president of policy and advocacy at Freedom House, said in a written statement to VOA.
'Beijing fears truth tellers'
According to Boyajian, Freedom House is proud to serve as an official partner of the Defending Freedoms Project and to advocate for the release of political prisoners around the world, including Lai.
“Mr. Lai is guilty of nothing more than attempting to exercise and protect fundamental rights in Hong Kong. His imprisonment and the trumped-up charges against him are evidence of just how much Beijing fears truth tellers,” Boyajian said.
According to Raskin, Lai is being prosecuted under the controversial NSL for his journalism and his pro-democracy activities, in clear violation of his rights to freedom of expression and to a fair trial.
Since Beijing implemented Hong Kong's NSL in 2020, U.S. lawmakers from both parties have increasingly voiced concerns about Hong Kong's diminishing autonomy and are seeking additional measures to pressure its government.
In March, the Hong Kong Legislative Council passed the "Maintenance of National Security Ordinance," derived from Article 23 of the basic law, targeting treason, sedition, espionage and foreign interference. Violators face life imprisonment.
These legislative actions have also raised concerns within the U.S. executive branch and Congress about the further erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong.
The White House informed Congress on July 10 that the national emergency regarding Hong Kong would remain in effect after July 14 this year. The Trump administration declared the situation in Hong Kong a national emergency by executive order on July 14, 2020, and the Biden administration has upheld this order since taking office. As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue to require that all goods originating in Hong Kong be marked with "China" as the country of origin.
Hong Kong fires back
The Hong Kong special administrative region government immediately responded Thursday, condemning and opposing the U.S. decision. They accused the U.S. government of using the national emergency to politicize human rights issues, disregard the rule of law and slander Hong Kong's implementation of the national security law.
Other U.S. House members expressed support for Lai through introduction of a bill in April to rename a section of the street in front of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in downtown Washington as "Jimmy Lai Way."
There has been no progress since the bill was introduced in April by New Jersey Representative Chris Smith, chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), and Representative Tom Suozzi from New York.
Additionally, in January, Smith and U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, respectively the chair and co-chair of the CECC, announced the nominations of Lai, Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and Ilham Tohti for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
The letter sent to the Nobel Peace Prize Committee highlighted that all four individuals were being arbitrarily detained by Chinese authorities and sentenced to life or long prison terms for exercising their rights guaranteed by international law.
