US did much more but UK…: What Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai's son said
Jimmy Lai: Jimmy Lai, founder of pro-democracy Hong Kong paper Apple Daily, is a British citizen as well as a passport holder.
Sebastien Lai, son of media mogul Jimmy Lai who has been jailed in Hong Kong for allegedly breaking national security laws, criticised the UK government for failing to speak out against China. While in London to meet UK PM Rishi Sunak, Sebastien Lai said that Americans have done more to raise his father's case than the UK.
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Jimmy Lai, founder of pro-democracy Hong Kong paper Apple Daily, is a British citizen as well as a passport holder. He has been in prison since December 2020 when he was convicted of lease fraud. The billionaire was the first high-profile figure to be charged under the newly-imposed national security law for allegedly conspiring and colluding with foreign forces to "endanger national security".
Sebastien Lai said, “The American government has spoken more about this than the UK government, which is a real embarrassment because my father is a British citizen and he's currently in prison for standing up for the very freedoms we have in this country.”
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“There was radio silence before we met the junior minister, that was a step forward but they need to do more, he is a British citizen, a British passport holder. I'm very frustrated they haven't said anything about my father's case,” he added.
Earlier UK PM Rishi Sunak said that Hong Kong authorities should stop targeting "pro-democracy voices, including Jimmy Lai".
