The son of Jimmy Lai, the tycoon and pro-democracy activist jailed in China, has called for “urgent” intervention from the UK as his father’s health deteriorates in solitary confinement.
British citizen Mr Lai, one of the most prominent critics of the Chinese Communist Party, has been in prison in Hong Kong since December 2020.
He is serving almost six years for lease fraud – normally a civil issue resulting in a fine – and is also facing trial for sedition and collusion with foreign forces.
Jimmy Lai in 2020. Pic: AP
Mr Lai’s detention has been discussed in talks during UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s visit to Beijing on Friday – his first trip to China since taking office.
The Foreign Office described the engagement as “pragmatic and necessary” and said Mr Lammy’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi was “constructive”.
On the agenda was human rights including Mr Lai and the alleged mistreatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
Mr Lai’s son Sebastien told Sky News he hoped Mr Lammy made it clear that “it is impossible to normalise the relationship if they still have a British national that’s imprisoned for standing up for freedoms that underpin our democracy”.
“We can’t trade on equal grounds with a partner that does not believe in our right to speak up and our right to freedom and exist,” he added.
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Mr Lai said his father’s case is “urgent”, telling Sky News: “I haven’t seen my dad in four years, since the end of 2020 when he was arrested.
“He’s 76, almost 77, he’s been kept in solitary confinement for four years – I haven’t seen him in the maximum security prison.
“His health has got quite a bit worse, as you might expect, so it’s about bringing my father home but it’s also about saving his life.”
During this week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer said the release of Mr Lair is a “priority” for the government.
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During his meeting in Beijing, Mr Lammy also discussed “foreign policy and security matters”, including Chinese companies supplying equipment to the Russian military and the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
But there was no direct reference to Taiwan.
Earlier in the week, China held large-scale military exercises surrounding the island, which Sir Keir described as “not conducive to peace and stability”.
In a sign the UK government is serious about engaging with China, the world’s second-largest economy, Mr Lammy spoke of scope for “mutually beneficial co-operation” in areas such as climate, energy, science, trade and technology.
He also cautioned that Britain would “always put its national interests and national security first”.
Following the meeting, Mr Wang said: “China-Britain relations… now stand at a new starting point. Competition among major powers should not be the backdrop of this era.”
The British government had previously commissioned an audit of the UK-China relationship given allegations of Chinese cyber attacks and spying on British soil.
Beijing says those claims are “completely fabricated”.