Braverman calls for release of Jimmy Lai after meeting with son
Suella Braverman has called on China to immediately release Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned Hong Kong businessman, after meeting his son in Westminster.
The former home secretary criticised his ongoing detention as she accused the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of behaving like a 'gangster regime crushing free speech'.
Mrs Braverman also said the UK Government's approach towards China was 'incoherently dangerous' and claimed it was 'kowtowing' to Beijing.
Mr Lai, who founded Hong Kong's popular newspaper Apple Daily and media company Next Digital, has been a British national since 1996.
Following the meeting, his son Sebastien Lai said: 'As my 77-year-old father faces another brutal Hong Kong summer in a concrete cell, I urge the UK Government and all parliamentarians to do more to secure his immediate and unconditional release.
'My father is a man of extraordinary courage and principle. Someone we are proud to be able to call a British citizen. It's time for his Government to honour his bravery by standing up for the values we all share and demanding his freedom before it is too late. The time for fine words is over – we need urgent action.'
A prominent critic of the CCP, Mr Lai was arrested in August 2020 by Hong Kong police on charges of violating the territory's new national security law. He was further charged with fraud and organising illegal protests.
The businessman has been in prison for more than four years and is currently being held in solitary confinement.
'Weak, inconsistent and submissive'
Mrs Braverman said: 'Jimmy Lai's continued detention is an international outrage. He is behind bars not for any crime, but for his unflinching commitment to freedom, democracy and the truth. Now, it is time for the UK parliament to unite and stand up for him, just as he stood up for our shared values.
'The CCP is behaving like a gangster regime, threatening democracy, crushing free speech and waging a sustained assault on political dissent.
'From the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang to the suppression of journalists and opponents, we are witnessing the CCP trample on the very principles of the international rules-based order. We've seen this dark path before in history and we must not look away in silence.'
She added: 'If the Prime Minister still held the convictions of a human rights lawyer, I have no doubt he would be acting on behalf of the Lai family. Why the silence now?
'This Government's approach to China is incoherently dangerous, complacent, weak, inconsistent and submissive. Whether it's approving a Chinese spy-centre in the heart of London, appeasement over the Chagos Islands, or the failure to list China on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS), Labour continues to kowtow to Beijing.
'The Foreign Secretary once said he would stand up to China. Now is the time to prove it.'
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