On Tuesday last week, the Italian senate introduced a motion calling on the Italian government to act through international institutions to protect the rights of Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai (黎智英), as well as those of pro-democracy activists imprisoned in Hong Kong. Lai has been held in solitary confinement since 2020 on charges of “sedition” and “collusion with foreign powers” under Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
With this initiative, Italy joins similar efforts by parliamentary bodies in the US, the UK and Australia, as well as the European Parliament urging Chinese authorities to release Lai on humanitarian grounds.
The motion followed a news conference at the Italian senate on Oct. 27 by Italian Senator Giulio Terzi to draw attention to the forthcoming verdict in Lai’s trial. There is a real risk that Lai could be sentenced to life imprisonment — a terrifying prospect given his serious health conditions, which have worsened during his detention, his lawyer said.
Participants in the news conference stressed the destructive impact of the censorship imposed by Hong Kong authorities on the “one country, two systems” principle, which was meant to safeguard the autonomy guaranteed by the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration.
In its World Press Freedom Index this year, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Hong Kong 140th out of 180 countries and territories. It ranked 135th last year, 80th in 2020, 70th in 2015 and 18th in 2002 — the first year of the RSF report. This year’s assessment says: “Once a bastion of press freedom, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China has suffered a series of unprecedented setbacks since 2020, when Beijing adopted a National Security Law aimed at silencing independent voices.”
At the EU-China summit in July, the EU reiterated its deep concern over the ongoing erosion of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, where China should honor its previous commitments, as well as the human rights situation in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the treatment of human rights defenders and minority groups. The European Parliament has repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait.
One of the speakers at the conference was Lai’s son, Sebastien. In his remarks, Sebastien Lai referred to Taiwan, saying that in its past two presidential elections Taiwanese chose the Democratic Progressive Party candidates precisely because they had witnessed events in Hong Kong. For many in Taiwan, Hong Kong was the testing ground for the “one country, two systems” model often invoked in discussions about Taiwan — and the place where that promise was broken.
The motion to free Jimmy Lai is not only a call to liberate a man who has defended freedom of speech, freedom of the press and freedom of assembly; it is also an appeal to China to act responsibly, foster peace in the Taiwan Strait and ease international tensions.
Matteo Angioli is secretary general of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella.”
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