NEWSLETTER: British Parliament Calls Attention to Jimmy Lai and Hong Kong’s Declining Freedoms
Committee News
The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation’s President, Mark Clifford, testified at the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Hong Kong’s hearing on Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily, and media freedoms in Hong Kong. Mr Clifford said, “Companies should notice how the erratic application of the National Security Law has transformed Hong Kong’s political environment. British businesses must make a choice, just as the British government must make a choice regarding whether it will do more to support the immediate release of British citizen Jimmy Lai.”
The Hong Kong authorities continue to harass Jimmy Lai's family and international legal team. Following a United Nations Human Rights Council meeting where Jimmy Lai's international legal team raised his case, theHong Kong government issued a long rebuttal declaring they "will never tolerate, and strongly deplores, any form of interference by anyone including the so-called ‘international legal team’ with judicial proceedings of the HKSAR”.
The CFHK Foundation’s Mark Clifford and Director of the UK & EU, Mark Sabah, met with the Chair of the APPG on Hong Kong, Alistair Carmichael MP, to discuss UK-China relations, Hong Kong, Jimmy Lai, and how the UK can best support its Hong Kong diaspora.
Ambassador (ret.) Mark P. Lagon is the newest member of the CFHK Foundation’s Advisory Board. Mr Lagon’s extensive experience leading think tanks, in academia, in the executive branch, and on Capitol Hill will provide invaluable insights that complement those of our existing Advisory Board.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s national security police rearrested and revoked the bail of former pro-democracy leader Albert Ho. Mr Ho has been charged with 'obstructing justice' after contacting a witness in the National Security Law-related case.
Horace Cheung, Hong Kong's deputy justice minister, said the curb on foreign lawyers in national security cases is not a 'blanket ban', revealing the Hong Kong authorities continued arbitrary leverage of the National Security Law including in high-profile cases such as Jimmy Lai.
Three former Tiananmen Square vigil organisers filed an appeal against their national security sentences. While all three individuals were granted bail, the bail conditions prevent "any speeches that could be deemed as endangering national security".
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey’s Hong Kong distributor cancelled the film’s screenings without reason. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Hong Kong authorities continue to be threatened by a children’s character that may “endanger national security” since Pooh has been used to oppose Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Al Jazeera shed light on Hong Kong’s continued population decline and struggle to reclaim its former glory due to the CCP and Hong Kong authorities’ ongoing political crackdown in the city-state.
UK-China Relations
Jimmy Lai’s lead international lawyer Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC slammed the British government’s ‘radio silence’ regarding Jimmy Lai’s guilty verdict in October 2022. Ms Gallagher declared, “What we see here is a man [Jimmy Lai] behind bars and who will die behind bars, unless more is done for his case.”
Following British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s TikTok ban on UK government devices, BBC News urged their employees to delete TikTok as it poses serious data security risks from China.
Britain's largest supermarket, Tesco, will remove Dahau and Hikivision's CCTV surveillance from its stores after their alleged involvement in the CCP’s ongoing genocide in Xinjiang.
US-China Relations
Congress’ Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party held their second hearing on the CCP’s ongoing genocide in Xinjiang. Ahead of the hearing, the Select Committee's Chairman Mike Gallagher said, "The situation in Xinjiang should serve as a warning for what the world would look like under CCP leadership."