Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) son Sabastien Lai (黎崇恩) said he is pleased that US President Donald Trump may discuss his father’s release with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during their upcoming meeting on Thursday.
His father is in poor health, Sabastien said yesterday in an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency, urging the international community to save his life and push for his release.
Speaking outside the Italian Senate after attending a solidarity event in Rome, he said that his father, who has diabetes, is physically breaking down after nearly five years in detention. “This is not just an issue of freedom. It is a life that needs to be saved,” he said.
Photo: Associated Press file photo
Jimmy Lai, a British-Chinese dual citizen and supporter of the pro-democracy protests that swept Hong Kong in 2019, was arrested under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law in August 2020.
The 78-year-old founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper pleaded not guilty in January last year to charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition.
The law, imposed in June 2020, punishes what Beijing broadly defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and foreign collusion with up to life in jail.
Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement under maximum security, a treatment Sebastien Lai described as intended to convey: “Nobody cares about you, you will die alone, you are not important.”
This is obviously not true, he said.
“Jimmy Lai’s story has moved many people around the world,” he added.
Sebastien Lai made the remarks at a news conference yesterday held by Italian Senator Giulio Terzi, former Italian foreign minister, to voice support for Jimmy Lai.
He said his father, a devout Catholic, despite severe restrictions on communication, remains steadfast in his faith, believing he did the right thing under God’s will.
He also said it was an honor that his mother and sister met Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 15.
Jimmy Lai’s verdict could be announced in the coming weeks, he said, making this the best time to act and for the international community to provide stronger support.
The US, UK, EU, Canada, Australia and other countries have already called for his father’s release and asked Italy to join like-minded nations in calling for his immediate and unconditional release, he said.
Jimmy Lai has given everything for freedom, he said.
Public support shown in democratic countries can tell the Hong Kong government: "If we were in the same situation, we would do the same thing to protect the rights we once had in the free world," he said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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