Free Fimmy Lai instead of chasing Xi's empty promises

Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has rewarded Keir Starmer's approval of China's “mega embassy” with an eagerly sought trip to Beijing.

- MARK L CLIFFORD

British officials hope for a renewal of the “golden era” of Sino-British ties of the 2010s, and a slew of CEOs will accompany the prime minister. We can add Starmer to the long line of PMs who nurse the fantasy that a sputtering China - a tiny trade partner - can help pull their economy out of its slump. Expect him to come back with a list of promised trade and investment pledges that will, in the end, amount to much ado about very little.

Using his time in Beijing to get British citizen Jimmy Lai out of the Hong Kong prison, where he’s been languishing in solitary confinement for most of the more than five years that he’s been held, would be a far more concrete accomplishment. That would build on Starmer’s background as a human rights lawyer and burnish Britain’s reputation as a fighter for freedom. At a time when the world faces an authoritarian onslaught, securing the freedom of Lai would send a strong signal that British values and influence still pack a punch.

At 78 years old, China’s most famous political prisoner could spend the rest of his life in jail following a verdict last month by a trio of handpicked Hong Kong national security judges who found that he colluded with “foreign forces” and published seditious articles.

There’s a strong British connection to Lai’s conviction. The list of those with whom Lai supposedly illegally colluded reads like a who’s who of Anglo-American politics - Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, John Bolton, Chris Patten, David Alton, Iain Duncan Smith, Luke de Pulford, Benedict Rogers, and Bill Browder. The verdict cited human rights activist and writer Rogers 93 times alone.

The judges denied Lai his right to trial by jury - perhaps worried that he would have been found innocent by a panel of ordinary Hong Kongers who weren’t squeezed by Beijing. They even scotched his choice of lawyer, British human rights barrister Tim Owens, leaving the newspaperman dependent on a team of cowed local attorneys.