More than 100 journalists and editors have signed an open letter calling for the immediate release of media mogul Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who has been detained in Hong Kong on national security charges.
Leading global media figures — including the Guardian editor-in-chief Katharine Viner and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa — called for the charges against Lai and other journalists in Hong Kong to be dropped.
Lai, who is 75 and was first arrested in 2020, is the founder and publisher of the Apple Daily, a liberal newspaper that was forced to close in 2021 after the Chinese Communist Party cracked down on pro-democracy protests.
Photo: AP
A longtime critic of the party, Lai is now one of the most high-profile activists in Hong Kong to have been arrested since the Chinese government imposed a sweeping National Security Law on the territory in 2020.
Lai was charged with contravening the National Security Law in August 2020. His trial for that case is scheduled for September, but since his arrest he has been convicted on separate charges of fraud and organizing illegal protests — charges that his supporters say are politically motivated.
The signatories to the letter, which was organized by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said: “We, as publishers and editors of news media organisations from around the world, are united in support of Apple Daily founder and publisher Jimmy Lai, and his fight for media pluralism and press freedom in Hong Kong.”
“Jimmy Lai has stood for these values his entire life... In a tremendous act of courage, he chose to stay in Hong Kong and continued to publish as long as he could, despite the severe crackdown taking place around him,” the letter said.
Hong Kong is ranked 140th out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2023 World Press Freedom Index, down from 58th place 10 years ago.
In March, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Lai’s international lawyer, said the tactics used by Hong Kong’s authorities amounted to “lawfare” — the use of legal mechanisms to suppress opposition — citing the fraud conviction as a tool to smear Lai’s character.
On Thursday, Hong Kong passed a law allowing authorities to ban foreign lawyers from working on national security cases, as a means of preventing Lai from engaging British lawyer Tim Owen in his coming trial.
Lai’s supporters have also criticized the British government for not doing enough to advocate for Lai’s release.
Last week, Sebastian Lai (黎崇恩), the elder Lai’s son, said the British government was “incredibly weak” for failing to call for the release of his father.
A spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office said it had “regularly” brought its concerns to Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, including the foreign secretary raising Lai’s case at the UN Human Rights Council in February.
“We have made clear our strong objection to China’s imposition of the National Security Law in Hong Kong, which is being used in a deliberate attempt to target and silence pro-democracy figures, including Jimmy Lai,” the spokesperson said.
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday decided to shelve proposed legislation that would give elected officials full control over their stipends, saying it would wait for a consensus to be reached before acting. KMT Legislator Chen Yu-jen (陳玉珍) last week proposed amendments to the Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan (立法院組織法) and the Regulations on Allowances for Elected Representatives and Subsidies for Village Chiefs (地方民意代表費用支給及村里長事務補助費補助條例), which would give legislators and councilors the freedom to use their allowances without providing invoices for reimbursement. The proposal immediately drew criticism, amid reports that several legislators face possible charges of embezzling fees intended to pay
REQUIREMENTS: The US defense secretary must submit a Taiwan security assistance road map and an appraisal of Washington’s ability to respond to Indo-Pacific conflict The US Congress has released a new draft of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which includes up to US$1 billion in funding for Taiwan-related security cooperation next year. The version published on Sunday by US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson removed earlier language that would have invited Taiwan to participate in the US-led Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC). A statement on Johnson’s Web page said the NDAA “enhances U.S. defense initiatives in the Indo-Pacific to bolster Taiwan’s defense and support Indo-Pacific allies.” The bill would require the US secretary of defense to “enable fielding of uncrewed and anti-uncrewed systems capabilities”
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
RSS