The son of imprisoned Hong Kong journalist Jimmy Lai has slammed Keir Starmer’s trip to China, saying his father is suffering in solitary confinement while politicians focus on diplomatic relations.
Sebastian Lai described the ongoing ordeal of his 78-year-old father, who has been held since 2020 for his pro-democracy journalism.
Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, is the most high-profile figure charged under Hong Kong’s controversial National Security Law, introduced in 2020 following mass pro-democracy protests.
Beijing insists the law is necessary to maintain stability, but critics say it has effectively criminalised dissent.
Mr Lai was accused of lobbying foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, and was also found guilty under a colonial-era law for publishing seditious material in his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.
The UK condemned Mr Lai’s conviction earlier this month, calling it “politically motivated persecution” and warning he had been “target for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.”
Sebastian, the son of Mr Lai, told GB News: “Many people worry about national security, especially from China. And yet, we seem to have given a lot away – the trip, the super embassy – without getting anything in return.
“It seems like it would be a relatively simple thing to put a 78-year-old man, in very poor health, on a plane back to the UK. If they can’t even do that, what does it say about the relationship?
Sebastian, the son of Mr Lai, said. he just wants his father back
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GB NEWS
GB News host Camilla Tominey explained: “Mr. Reed [Labour MP] said this dialogue is necessary to secure his release.”
Sebastian Lai said: “I’m not against diplomatic relations, of course, but did it have to be a bells-and-whistles Beijing mission? Is it appropriate while my father has been in solitary confinement for five years?
“His health is worsening, he has diabetes, heart problems, and his body is physically deteriorating after prolonged solitary. He’s been there 1,800 days, losing weight, nails, teeth it’s heartbreaking.”
Camilla asked: “How long have you been unable to speak to him?”
LATEST ON KEIR STARMER’S TRIP TO CHINA
Jimmy Lai is in prison in China
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GETTYMr Lai responded: “Since the end of 2020. I can communicate by letters, and I hear updates from court visits, but it’s not the same. Last year, he lost ten kilos. Mentally he’s strong, but physically he’s declining.”
“It’s devastating. Part of me is incredibly proud — he’s a hero to many — but I also just want my father.
“People ask if I’ve told him to leave, but he refused. When first arrested, someone asked if he regretted it, knowing he would be imprisoned.
“He said: ‘I wouldn’t have changed a goddamn thing.’ His courage is extraordinary, but I just want him home.”
He added: “He stayed, defending his principles and his colleagues. For that, he’s been kept in solitary confinement, which is essentially torture.”
The Prime Minister raised Mr Lai’s case directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in Beijing this week.
He has been in detention for more than five years, much of that time in solitary confinement, having been arrested in 2020 under Hong Kong’s new national security law.
Today, senior minister Steve Reed told Camilla: “Keir Starmer wants to raise the issue with the president of China which he has done directly, there is more hope when there is dialogue and a conversation.
He added: “Before there was zero hope and now there is some hope that he will be released.”
“Refusing to talk to the Chinese would mean no hope of Jimmy Lai being released.”