PRESS RELEASE
EMBARGOED UNTIL 00:01 BST MONDAY 24th APRIL
23rd April 2023
Parliamentarians launch new report examining the devastating impact of Hong Kong’s controversial National Security Law on media freedom
APPG on Hong Kong calls on the UK Government to stand with wrongfully detained British citizen and pro-democracy activist, Jimmy Lai
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hong Kong has launched a new report (attached) following their Inquiry into the devastating impact the National Security Law (NSL) has had on media freedom and freedom of expression in Hong Kong.
The report concludes the long-running inquiry which has included an examination of the deeply concerning case of British citizen, Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy advocate and founder of the now-defunct newspaper, Apple Daily, who has been aggressively targeted by the NSL. The NSL has been used to silence Lai’s pro-democracy views and discourage opposition and other pro-democracy advocates from sharing similar opinions.
The attack on the 75-year-old British and Hong Kong citizen represents an egregious human rights breach, and highlights how Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have weaponised the law to justify his mistreatment and tarnish his reputation. Lai is currently being unlawfully detained in Hong Kong, with no hope of a fair trial.
The report will be launched at a special event in the House of Commons on Monday 24th April in which Sebastian Lai, Lai’s son, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, Lai’s international lawyer, and Alistair Carmichael MP, co-chair of the APPG on Hong Kong, will be speaking. The panel will discuss the report’s findings before a Q&A session.
The APPG on Hong Kong’s report following its Inquiry makes several recommendations for the UK Government, with the main proposed actions including:
- Treating the case of Jimmy Lai as a political priority and applying diplomatic pressure for his immediate release.
- Imposing targeted sanctions against the individuals responsible for Lai’s arrest and detention, curtailing media freedom, and oppression of the people of Hong Kong.
- Co-ordination with like-minded states, through fora such as the Media Freedom Coalition, to advocate for Lai’s release.
- More effective use of the seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council to further raise awareness of this case, that of other pro-democracy activists, and the devastating effects of the NSL in Hong Kong.
- Using all possible leverage to improve human rights in Hong Kong, including providing journalists in Hong Kong with emergency visas where they do not qualify for BNO scheme, and refusing Hong Kong officials travel to the UK until they implement the agreed upon human rights conditions specified in the Joint Declaration.
Alistair Carmichael MP, co-chair of the APPG, said:
“Freedom of speech and of media is a prerequisite of any democracy. Seldom has this been more apparent than in the brutal repression of the people of Hong Kong by the Chinese Communist Party.
“The case of Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, shows autocracy at its worst. The seizing of his private company, shutdown of his publications and imprisonment over trumped-up charges flies in the face of international law, and puts the regime in Beijing in ongoing breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong, to which China voluntarily committed.
“The UK Government may not have been completely silent, but there is far more that we can and must do to highlight the abuses of rights seen in Hong Kong.”
ENDS
For more information:
Chris Whitehouse, Whitehouse Communications
T: +44 (0)20 3855 5760
M: +44 (0)7429 463 384
About the APPG on Hong Kong
The APPG on Hong Kong was inaugurated on 5th November 2019. Its aim is to promote democracy and the rule of law, defend human rights in Hong Kong, share information about Hong Kong and to nurture relations between the United Kingdom and the people of Hong Kong.
