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Over the past three decades, Jimmy Lai’s name has become synonymous with Hong Kong’s struggle for democracy: his newspaper Apple Daily, which was launched in the mid-90s, morphed from a local tabloid to what was widely considered a bold pro-democracy voice and critic of Beijing — until it was shut down by authorities in 2021.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, was handed back to China in 1997. The civil liberties and freedoms enjoyed in the special administrative region were to be preserved for at least 50 years under the “one country, two systems” framework, however, Beijing has made increasing efforts to control Hong Kong’s political system and silence dissent in the less than 30 years since.
Lai has experienced China’s encroachment first-hand.
He was first arrested during the Umbrella Movement of 2014 when tens of thousands of people took to the streets and staged a months-long sit-in in protest against the Chinese government’s plan to restrict elections.
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Jimmy Lai was arrested in August 2020 and has since been held in a maximum-security prison in Hong Kong on a number of charges under the national security law.
“They’re drawing out his trial and it’s inhumane because, at almost 77, he is being kept in a cell in solitary confinement for more than 1300 days; he doesn’t get any natural light,” Sebastien [Lai, who is Jimmy Lai’s son] says.
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These people are heroes if something like that exists. China must not only be called out more on that, Beijings ignorance of universal human rights must also have direct real-world consequences. Trade and investment agreements (such as WTO rules and China’s infamous Belt and Road Initiative) make only sense if and when rights issues are part of these international rule sets. China’s policies are manifestly unjust as its government permanently makes decisions in complete disregard of anyone else - its own people, its Asian neighbours, and the wider global community. There appears to be a slight, timid change in this respect, but much more must be done to adequately address the crimes against humanity committed by China.