Starmer must cancel China trip and block mega-embassy, MPs demand after pro-democracy tycoon jailed
Top MPs are demanding action after Jimmy Lai was found guilty of national security offences in Hong Kong
MPs have demanded that the Prime Minister cancel his spring trip to China after a Hong Kong court found pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai guilty of national security offences.
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A Hong Kong court has found the British media tycoon, 78, guilty of national security offences after he was arrested more than five years ago.
His arrest came as the Chinese government cracked down on protests throughout Hong Kong.
During his more than 1,000 days in jail, Lai has been sentenced for several lesser offences.
Lai, best known for founding pro-democracy outlet Apple Daily, is alleged to have worked with foreign governments to “endanger national security.”
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the conviction of the media tycoon on Monday and said the Foreign Office has summoned the Chinese ambassador to "underline our position in the strongest terms".
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However, former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has insisted "it's no good" summoning the ambassador, and urged ministers to take action against China.
Sir Iain said: "This isn't just about Hong Kong, it's also about this chamber.
"I'm one of those that had been named in a prosecution case against Jimmy Lai nine times, there are others who have been named more than that, which is appalling, because I'd love to have met him and spoken to him, but I never have done - trumped up nonsense from the CCP."
He added: "It's no good just meeting people to say they're wrong or calling in their ambassadors.
"Surely, what we have to do is show them that now there is a ratchet upwards of the things that they will that we will do.
"Number one, we need to tell them there will be no visit in January by a Prime Minister to an organisation that is so corrupt and indecent.
"Number two, we should start imposing, surely, sanctions in and on those members in Hong Kong who run the place ... every other country has sanctioned, but we have not.
"And finally, the idea of allowing this regime to have a huge embassy with 200 extra spies brought in at this point, surely they need to be told this will not happen until they release Jimmy Lai."
Tory former security minister Tom Tugendhat added that the case of Jimmy Lai is "part of the repression of the Chinese state" used to threaten and intimidate Hong Kongers in the UK.
Referring to the Government's position that the Chinese embassy is a "planning decision" for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Mr Tugendhat said: "What we're hearing again is the bureaucratisation of process and not the leadership that politics is supposed to offer.
"When we don't hear the decisions like the embassy or the visit are potentially on the line, then Beijing hears that they can just continue as normal.
"Because let's not pretend that a fundamentally strategic decision like the siting of an embassy is the mere duty of a bureaucrat.
"It's not. It's the role of a Government to offer leadership and direction, and I'm afraid the moment this government is offering none."
Responding, Ms Cooper acknowledged that the case of Jimmy Lai is "used more widely as part of transnational repression, which is something I take immensely seriously".
She said that Government will continue to make his case "a central issue in all our discussions with the Chinese government".
On the issue of the embassy, she said: "The UK continues to have very strong restrictions on both the numbers of people who are able to come and on the visa arrangements as well.
"All of that continues, that does not change as a result of any planning decision at all."
She added: "We never talk about sanctions in advance, but we have expanded the sanctions, not just around cyber threats, but also around some of the issues around the support for Russia and the war on Ukraine as well."
Read more: Hong Kong prosecutors allege activist Jimmy Lai encouraged democracy protests
Judge Esther Toh claimed Lai had extended "constant invitations" to the US in a bid to bring down the Chinese government.
She called Lai the “mastermind” behind plans to bring down the entirety of the Chinese Communist Party.
"There is no doubt that the first defendant had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC (People's Republic of China) for many of his adult years," Judge Toh said.
Following Monday’s verdict, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation's UK and Europe director Mark Sabah said: "This verdict should surprise absolutely no one. The trial against Jimmy Lai has been a show trial masquerading as justice. But what's actually been on display is the complete and total destruction of Hong Kong's reputation as a global legal centre.
"Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. But instead of demanding the release of one of its own, the British government's response has been years of timid action and kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). By abandoning one of its citizens, the British government has sent a clear and shameful message: trade access to the CCP matters more than the rule of law, press freedom, or the safety of British nationals abroad.
"We now wait for whatever sentence the Hong Kong authorities and the CCP conjure up to bring this five-year charade to an end. But make no mistake, the fight for freedom and justice will go on, not just for Jimmy Lai but for all political prisoners in Hong Kong."