The British son of a convicted Hong Kong media tycoon has slammed the UK government’s “hypocrisy.”
According to Sebastien Lai, Britain has failed to denounce the growing crackdown on opposition in Hong Kong strongly enough.
He emphasised that it has not advocated for the release of his father Jimmy, who is also a British citizen, and that it continues to trade with China.
Jimmy Lai was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for fraud last year. He is also charged with national security.
The 75-year-old billionaire, who created the pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, is one of the most visible of the so-called Hong Kong 47 pro-democracy campaigners on trial for subversion. If convicted, he might spend the rest of his life in prison.
The Hong Kong government on Wednesday passed laws preventing foreign lawyers from defending clients in national security cases after Jimmy Lai had hired prominent King’s Counsel Tim Owen.
Speaking on the same day at a Washington event about the human rights situation in Hong Kong, Sebastien Lai called the UK government “incredibly weak.”
He further slammed the Vatican for not standing up for his father, who is a Catholic, and claimed the United States has been “a lot stronger” on these issues.
The allegations against Jimmy Lai, according to then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, illustrate Hong Kong authorities’ “continued attacks on the rights and freedoms of its people.”
His successors, James, Cleverly, and Liz Truss, have similarly stated that liberties in the territory have been “eroded” since Beijing approved a contentious national security law that criminalizes, among other things, subversion.
This week witnessed the first visit to Hong Kong by a senior British politician in five years, when Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson met with government officials and executives.
