G7 calls for Jimmy Lai’s release, China slams ‘interference’ in its affairs

G7 governments call on Hong Kong authorities to ‘end such prosecutions’, release pro-democracy media tycoon immediately.

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies have condemned the prosecution of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai by Hong Kong authorities, in a move that Chinese officials have dismissed as “crude interference in China’s internal affairs”.

On Monday, a panel of three judges found the 78-year-old media tycoon guilty of two counts of conspiring with foreign forces to threaten national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

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Lai will be sentenced early next year and faces the possibility of life in prison.

In a brief joint statement issued by G7 members Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States on Wednesday, authorities in Hong Kong were called on to “end such prosecutions and to release Jimmy Lai immediately”.

“We continue to express our concerns about deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong,” the G7 said.

Responding to the statement, China’s state-run Global Times newspaper quoted an unnamed spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Canada as saying it represented a “crude interference in China’s internal affairs” and a “serious violation of the basic norms governing international relations”.

“We urge the relevant parties to respect China’s sovereignty and Hong Kong’s rule of law, and to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong’s judicial affairs and China’s internal affairs,” the spokesperson said.

Lai, who pleaded not guilty to all charges, has been in detention for five years since his arrest during a series of antigovernment protests that gripped Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020.

In 2020, Chinese authorities introduced a draconian national security law in Hong Kong as part of a harsh crackdown by Beijing on dissent in the territory following the mass protests. The law established secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign organisations as crimes carrying hefty punishment.

Lai’s case represents the most high-profile use of that law to date, with critics condemning his trial as politically motivated.

US President Donald Trump has publicly backed Lai, repeatedly promising to do what he can to “save” him.

Authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong insist Lai has been given a fair trial, with the Chinese embassy in Canada reiterating in its Wednesday statement that “everyone is equal before the law” in Hong Kong.

“Jimmy Lai is a principal planner and participant in a series of major anti-China, destabilising activities in [Hong Kong]. His crimes are well documented and the harm he has caused is grave,” the spokesperson said.

“The judicial authorities of [Hong Kong] have performed their duties in accordance with the law, upheld the authority of the law, and safeguarded national security. This is reasonable, lawful, and beyond reproach,” they added.

Lai is set to reappear in court on January 12 for a pre-sentencing hearing. His lawyer said the jailed activist will decide whether to appeal after sentencing.