Son of Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai calls on Canada, U.K. to demand father’s release

As It Happens6:45Son of Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai calls on Canada, U.K. to demand his father's release

Sebastien Lai, son of the jailed Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, said he's hopeful the Canadian government could join calls for his father's release.

His comments come after a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, which was first reported by the Globe and Mail, and members of Parliament earlier this month during a trip to Canada.

"Everybody was incredibly supportive," Sebastien Lai told As It Happens host Nil Köksal on Monday. "This is a very clear case of media freedom and a case of someone going to jail for defending democratic values.

"[In] Canada, at least all the people that I've met, have shown incredible, incredible moral clarity in this case."

In a statement, Global Affairs Canada confirmed that Joly met with Sebastien Lai, but it did not commit to calling for his release.

Jimmy Lai, 76, is the founder of Next Digital, a media company that previously published the pro-democracy tabloid newspaper Apple Daily. The publication was forced to close in 2021 after its offices were raided and its executives, editors and journalists were arrested.

In 2020, Lai was arrested and charged on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces under the national security law — a vaguely worded law imposed by Beijing that criminalizes secession, sedition, collusion and terrorism — during a crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement following widespread protests in 2019. In December 2022, he was sentenced to more than five years in prison on fraud charges.

According to his son, he is in solitary confinement at a maximum-security prison.

A trial is set for Lai on Dec. 18, and he is expected to plead not guilty. Previous trial dates have been repeatedly pushed back, however. Sebastien Lai called the upcoming trial a "sham," noting that the case is being tried without a jury.

"I'm incredibly worried about him … he's the oldest political prisoner. He's a very strong and principled man mentally, but in the end, nobody escapes the gravity of age," Sebastien Lai said. "But I'm not going to let this fear dictate my judgment, just in the same way that Dad didn't let this fear dictate his judgment."

While the United States and European Union have both called for Lai's release, Ottawa has yet to make a public statement.

"Canada continues to monitor all trials related to national security law charges and anti-sedition law, including Mr. Lai's," Global Affairs Canada said in an emailed statement, adding that at the time of Lai's arrest, then foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne expressed concern that the event would erode media freedom in Hong Kong.

'He stood firm'

Lai has a decades-long history of advocating for democracy in the former British colony. Apple Daily often openly opposed the Chinese government and its policies.

That work consistently made him a target, but he remained undeterred, his son said.

"Our house has been firebombed. He's had assassination attempts. Someone once skinned a dog and pinned it on our door because of his journalism — because he stood firm, spoke truth to power and didn't bend to intimidation," he said.

Sebastien Lai met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Tuesday to ask the government to call for the release of his father, who is also a British citizen.

"The U.K. opposes the national security law and will continue to stand by Jimmy Lai and the people of Hong Kong," the Foreign Office said after the meeting.

Hong Kong Watch, a U.K.-based human rights advocacy group, said in a statement that foreign governments, including Canada, have a responsibility to bring attention to Lai's detainment and follow the upcoming trial closely.

"Canada must hold the Hong Kong authorities to account for their human rights violations and call for the release of Jimmy Lai," wrote Katherine Leung, Canadian policy advisor for Hong Kong Watch.

Speaking with Köksal, Sebastien Lai said support from foreign governments has led to the release of prisoners.

Cheng Lei, an Australian journalist, was detained in China under the national security law for three years. She was tried in secret, and Australian diplomats were refused entry to her trial.

In October, Lei was released and returned to Australia following the completion of legal processes in China, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the time.

The Australian government had repeatedly raised concerns about Lei's detention with China.

"The Australian government kept calling for her release, mentioned it in all bilateral engagements, and, in the end, they secured her release," Sebastien Lai said. "That's why I was so hopeful … after my trip to Canada."

While the circumstances are difficult, he said he remains committed to fighting for his father.

"Even though it's obviously weird to have your father in prison at 76 and not be able to see him for the holidays … I am incredibly proud. And I'm sure he knows that," he said.

"I'm sure he knows that I'm out here fighting for his release."

With files from Reuters and The Associated Press. Interview with Sebastien Lai produced by Morgan Passi