Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Hong Kong just sent a blunt message about dissent—and the world should pay attention. In a statement Monday, Rubio blasted a Hong Kong court's 20-year sentence for media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, calling it an "unjust and tragic conclusion" and urging authorities to grant the 78-year-old "humanitarian parole."
- Lai, a longtime critic of Beijing, was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and conspiring to publish seditious materials under a China-driven national security law that allows for life sentences. Lai testified that when he met with then-Vice President Mike Pence during the 2019 pro-democracy protests, he was relaying information, not seeking to influence US foreign policy, the BBC reports.
Rubio said the ruling shows Beijing is willing to "go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong," accusing China of discarding promises made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which was supposed to guarantee a "one country, two systems" framework after the 1997 handover, the Hill reports. Lai has already spent more than five years in solitary confinement; his trial lasted two years. His family and lawyers say Lai, suffers from hypertension, diabetes, and other health problems.
Government and press freedom groups across several countries criticized the verdicts. "The rule of law has been completely shattered in Hong Kong," said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists. "Today's egregious decision is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong. The international community must step up its pressure to free Jimmy Lai if we want press freedom to be respected anywhere in the world." Reporters without Borders said the court's decision "underscores the complete collapse of press freedom in Hong Kong and the authorities' profound contempt for independent journalism."
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also denounced the sentence, noting that Lai is a British citizen. "For the 78-year-old, this is tantamount to a life sentence," she said in a statement. I remain deeply concerned for Mr Lai's health, and I again call on the Hong Kong authorities to end his appalling ordeal and release him on humanitarian grounds, so that he may be reunited with his family." Six former staffers from Lai's now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and two activists were also sentenced to prison terms of between just over six years and 10 years on collusion-related charges, the AP reports.
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