Canada’s foreign minister has condemned the “politically motivated” conviction of Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai, and called for his immediate release from prison.
Lai, an outspoken critic of Beijing, was found guilty Monday of violating Hong Kong’s stringent, China-imposed national security law. The 78-year-old has already spent five years in custody while awaiting the landmark trial, and now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars.
“Canada condemns the politically motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai under the National Security Law in Hong Kong and calls for his immediate release,” Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said in a statement provided by her office to Global News.
“We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy which are enshrined in Hong Kong’s Basic Law.”
Three government-vetted judges found Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. He was previously convicted of several lesser offences related to fraud allegations and his actions during that year of protest.
The trial, held in Hong Kong without a jury, has been closely monitored for its impact on media freedom and judicial independence since China began exerting greater control over the territory in recent years.
Lai has spent much of the past five years in solitary confinement, and his family has said his health has declined rapidly.
Lai’s daughter Claire has publicly vowed her father does not intend to return to activism if he is freed.
“He just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family,” she told The Associated Press in an interview in Washington on Monday. “My father is fundamentally not a man who operates on illegal ground.”
Her comments echoed a Washington Post op-ed she wrote last week in which she said Lai’s “crusading days are over” and that he would “leave Hong Kong and pose no threat to the regime.” The piece also warned Beijing not to make Lai “a martyr for freedom” by allowing him to die in prison.
Get daily National news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday he has raised Lai’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping, telling reporters at the White House he feels “so badly” about the verdict.
“I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump said. “He’s not well, he’s an older man, and he’s not well, so I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement late Monday, called for Lai’s urgent release “on humanitarian grounds.”
“The guilty verdict in Mr. Lai’s national security case reflects the enforcement of Beijing’s laws to silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights — rights that China pledged to uphold in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,” he said.
“Mr. Lai is not alone in facing punishment for defending these rights.”
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.
Canadian activists in the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement are calling on Canada to raise Lai’s case with Beijing as well and fight for the release of “all political prisoners in Hong Kong.”
“Canada has long claimed a commitment to human rights, press freedom, and the rule of law. Now is the moment to act,” Andy Wong, president of the Ontario non-profit Canada-Hong Kong Link, said in a statement.
“At a time of profound uncertainty in the global order, pivoting toward China while ignoring its escalating repression is neither pragmatic nor safe. The world must not look away while an elderly prisoner of conscience is slowly destroyed behind bars.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney and his government are seeking to restore economic and diplomatic cooperation with China as Canada seeks to diversify its trading relationships in the face of U.S. tariffs.
The approach marks a shift from Ottawa after years of sour relations under former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
Anand, who met with Chinese officials this fall, has said it’s necessary to pursue a “strategic relationship” in order to “have the dialogue necessary to address the issues of Canadian concern.”
In an interview, Wong said he was glad to see Anand’s condemnation of the Lai verdict, but added it also proves China and Hong Kong are “not safe places” for business and trade. He also questioned Ottawa’s approach of resetting the relationship.
“Are we going to reward China for what they’re doing (by doing business with them)? I don’t think that’s okay,” he said.
Wong and other Canadian groups have called on Ottawa to impose sanctions on senior Hong Kong officials after arrest warrants and bounties were issued against 19 overseas activists, including three Canadian citizens and three others with ties to Canada.
Anand and Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree condemned the arrest warrants as “transnational repression” and called on Hong Kong to repeal its national security law in a joint statement in July.
The G7 also issued a statement condemning the warrants in August. Neither statement raised the possibility of sanctions.
In its verdict Monday, the Hong Kong court said Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.
But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”
Lai testified for 52 days in his own defence during the 152-day trial.
The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China expressed firm opposition to the vilification of the city’s judiciary by “certain countries,” urging them to respect Hong Kong’s legal system.
Hong Kong authorities have also dismissed concerns about Lai’s deteriorating health, despite reports from his family of rapid weight loss and heart problems.
“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” Steve Li, chief Supt. of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, told reporters outside the court building.
—With files from The Associated Press