Jimmy Lai took the stand at his show trial right after the unjust sentencing of 45 other pro-democracy Hongkongers. They were given prison terms of up to ten years for their temerity in seeking to participate in a Hong Kong election that was to be an election in name only.
But as a prominent entrepreneur, as the publisher of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, as a British citizen facing life in prison, as both a person and a symbol, Lai has been the cynosure of many concerned about what has happened to Hong Kong and its people. Jimmy Lai represents all of the Hong Kong victims of the Chinese Communist Party crackdown (“European Lawmakers Call to Sanction Hong Kong Over Jimmy Lai,” Bloomberg, November 29, 2024).
Members of European Parliament wrote that Hong Kong authorities should “immediately and unconditionally release all pro-democracy politicians.” They added in a resolution that was posted to their website Thursday sanctions should be imposed “for human rights violations.”…
Hong Kong authorities hit back at the European lawmakers’ criticism, calling accusations of humans rights abuses “groundless.”
“We strongly condemn any suggestion of imposing unilateral sanctions on any officials,” a government spokesperson said in a statement late Thursday. “Officials will not be threatened by such barbaric and despicable acts.”
The former British colony’s alleged role in helping Russia, Iran and North Korea evade global sanctions through financial services was also condemned in the lawmakers’ statement.
The proposals: revoke Hong Kong’s favorable customs treatment and review “the status of its economic trade office in Brussels.” Okay for a start.
A few days earlier, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party had been in the news because of its letter to Treasury Secretary Jane Yellen on how Hong Kong “ ‘has shifted from a trusted global financial center to a critical player in the deepening authoritarian axis’ of China, Iran, Russia and North Korea.” The crimes are many, and the sanctions can be many.
Also see:
Acton Institute: Video: The Hong Konger: Jimmy Lai’s Extraordinary Struggle for Freedom
