World Press Freedom Canada urges the Canadian government to take a strong stand in defence of Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, and in support of greater press freedom in China.

Mr. Lai, who is suffering a heart ailment, is facing life imprisonment under China’s National Security Law, for the “crime” of committing journalism in his Apple Daily newspaper.

As the Liberal government seeks renewed dialogue with Beijing, it is critical that those discussions be grounded in Canadian values that include press freedom and freedom of expression. 

The National Security Law “criminalizes freedom through vague and overbroad crimes that are weaponized to crush dissent and destroy fundamental rights,” wrote Mr. Lai’s Canadian lawyer, Irwin Cotler and international human rights lawyer Brandon Silver in a recent op-ed in The Globe and Mail. The authors are the founders and policy director, respectively, with the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights in Montreal.

Canada is an executive member of the international Media Freedom Coalition, whose members commit to promoting press freedom at home and abroad. 

We urge the Liberal government to work with Media Freedom Coalition partners to secure Mr. Lai’s freedom and encourage the Chinese government to decriminalize journalism.