US and UK call for publisher Jimmy Loy’s release The prominent pro-democracy campaigner will go on trial in Hong Kong from Monday for “crimes against national security”. Washington and London call the process “politically motivated.”
Lai, 76, a critic of China, has been in custody since 2020 and faces up to life in prison for violating a controversial security law imposed by Beijing on the semi-autonomous region of Hong Kong. Lai, the former owner of the defunct Hong Kong newspaper ‘Apple Daily’, has been accused of colluding with foreign powers.
“As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Loy has been the target of an operation aimed at restricting his freedom of expression and association,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement.
Cameron met Sebastian Lye, son of well-known dissident, in London last Tuesday. China reacted angrily and the UK accused the former British colony of “evil intentions”.
Controversial National Security Act
The US has also demanded Lai’s immediate release. “The United States condemns the prosecution of pro-democracy activist and media owner Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong under Chinese-imposed national security laws,” a US State Department spokesman said in a statement. Since China introduced the security law, the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong has been suppressed.
The European Union and the United Nations have also expressed concern over the case against Lai, a British citizen. That criticism was dismissed by Beijing as defamation and interference.
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