Tony Sheldon (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Along with my colleagues across the Senate, I rise to speak in support of this matter of public importance on the ongoing detention and prosecution of Jimmy Lai. Today is a day of reflection because of the horrendous backdrop of 45 pro-democracy activists now facing up to 10 years in jail.

Mr Lai is a 76-year-old publisher and pro-democracy campaigner who, for decades, has been a high-profile figure in the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. He founded and ran the largest independent Chinese-language media outlet in Hong Kong, Apple Daily, until its forced closure in June 2021. Since December 2020, almost four years ago, Mr Lai has been detained in solitary confinement awaiting trial for charges of alleged sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Importantly, for the purposes of this debate, Australia is directly implicated in these charges. The charges relating to the alleged collusion with foreign forces stated Mr Lai has encouraged eight countries to impose sanctions or engage in other hostile activities towards China. One of the eight countries implicated in this suit is Australia.

Mr Lai's trial is due to recommence this week. If convicted, he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. We are deeply concerned by Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute journalists like Jimmy Lai. The national security law, which Mr Lai is charged with breaching, has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. And Hong Kong's article 23 legislation has further eroded rights and freedoms as guaranteed under basic law in the Sino-British joint declaration. These laws have had far-reaching impacts on individuals in Australia. We saw that with Hong Kong authorities issuing arrest warrants for Australian citizens.

Just today the foreign minister expressed our grave concern at the fate of Gordon Ng, an Australian citizen who has been sentenced under the national security law for organising a democratic primary. I call on China to cease its oppression of media freedoms and repeal the national security law. Earlier this year, I met with Mr Lai's son, Sebastian Lai, and his legal team to discuss the state of the case. I'm aware that this delegation also met with the foreign minister and other leaders across the political spectrum. Mr Lai's case and the case for greater civil liberties and political freedoms in Hong Kong has broad support in Australia and around the world. UN special rapporteurs have called on the Hong Kong authorities to drop all charges against Mr Lai and release him immediately, citing multiple and serious violations of Mr Lai's rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and his right to a fair trial.

Mr Lai has been denied a fair trial and his choice of legal counsel, making it impossible for these charges to be fairly tested. As Mr Lai's son said earlier this year: 'They've made it pretty clear: no juries; three government-appointed judges; the security minister boasting of a hundred per cent conviction rate. So, in my mind, they just want to keep dad in prison for as long as they want to, and they'll just write the sentences around that.'

The crackdown on political freedoms and civil liberties in Hong Kong is a tragedy for the people of Hong Kong and for the many Australians who know and love the city and its people. We urge the Chinese government and Hong Kong authorities to uphold and protect those elements which have been so crucial to Hong Kong's success, including its high degree of autonomy; rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the basic law; and the Sino-British declaration, to which Beijing committed.