Donald Trump has requested his Chinese language counterpart to launch pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai, who has been discovered responsible of nationwide safety offences in Hong Kong.
The US president stated he felt “so badly” in regards to the media tycoon and British citizen, 78, who was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a nationwide safety regulation following huge anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
Lai, who had beforehand been sentenced for a number of lesser offences throughout his 5 years in jail, may now spend the remainder of his life behind bars.
Picture:
Jimmy Lai. Pic: Reuters
Mr Trump stated he had spoken to Xi Jinping about Lai’s case and requested for his launch.
“I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” he stated. “He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”
It comes as UK Overseas Secretary Yvette Cooper stated China’s ambassador to the UK had been summoned over Lai’s conviction to underline the federal government’s place within the “strongest terms”.
Talking in parliament, she repeated requires Lai to be launched and referred to as the conviction “a politically motivated prosecution”.
Picture:
Folks wait to enter the courtroom constructing forward of the decision. Pic: AP
Ms Cooper made the remarks after Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesperson stated Lai’s case has been a precedence for the federal government and “we will continue to call for his immediate release”.
Earlier within the day, China’s ambassador to the UK, Zheng Zeguang, met with a senior official on the UK Overseas Workplace “to lodge solemn representations over the UK side’s statement that made irresponsible remarks on the Hong Kong High Court’s guilty verdict in the Jimmy Lai case”, China’s embassy stated.
Defined: Who’s Jimmy Lai?
Talking after the decision, Lai’s daughter Claire stated if he have been launched he would commit himself to God and his household slightly than political activism.
“He just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family,” Claire Lai advised the Related Press. “My father is fundamentally not a man who operates on illegal ground.”
Picture:
Claire Lai. Pic: Reuters
She stated 5 years of solitary confinement has taken a toll on his well being, and he has misplaced a big quantity of weight.
“He is a lot weaker and has only gotten weaker in the last year,” she stated. “He has back pains and waist pains, his nails… when we visit, we can tell that they’re turning colours and falling off. Some of his teeth are rotting.”
He additionally has coronary heart palpitations, is diabetic and his imaginative and prescient and listening to are failing, she added.
Hong Kong’s safety chief, Chris Tang, stated Lai has acquired “full medical services” and has by no means complained of the medical care he has been given.
Please use Chrome browser for a extra accessible video participant
1:32
Jimmy Lai’s son: UK authorities should ‘do extra’
‘You have to preserve combating’
In the meantime, her brother Sebastian Lai is lobbying the UK authorities for his or her father’s launch.
“Regarding the United Kingdom, we talk about normalising relationships. Well, my father’s freedom should be a precondition to that,” he stated.
Requested if he’s optimistic worldwide stress may also help, he stated: “I think you’ve got to keep fighting no matter what. I think, taking my father’s example, standing up for what is right is why we’re doing it. This is my way of fighting for it.”
Hong Kong’s chief John Lee welcomed the decision, saying: “He has harmed the fundamental interests of the country and the well-being of the people of Hong Kong; his actions are shameful and his intentions malicious.”
