Prime Minister Mark Carney is calling for the release of Hong Kong democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, who’s been imprisoned by Beijing-controlled authorities in Hong Kong since the end of 2020.
Carney said Canada’s push to free Lai is motivated by humanitarian concerns and support for press freedom. Lai, 77, is the former publisher of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, which criticized Beijing and supported Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. He was jailed five years ago along with six colleagues under Hong Kong’s national security law on charges of sedition and colluding with foreign adversaries for allegedly promoting “anti-China, destabilizing activities” promoting Hong Kong separatism from China, according to Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu.
“We support the freedom of the press, and we would urge the release of Mr. Lai,” Carney said Oct. 16 during questions following an unrelated announcement in Etobicoke, Ont. “I’m making the point on humanitarian grounds and our support for, as I say, support for freedom of the press, including in Hong Kong.”
Canadian human rights groups have called for Lai’s release for years, including a recent June 18 joint statement put out by the Canadian Coalition on Human Rights in China and the Toronto Association for Democracy in China calling for Lai to be given honourary Canadian citizenship and let out of jail. Lai’s mother was Canadian and his twin sister resides in Canada.
Lai suffers from diabetes and is facing potential life in prison with his trial set to proceed to closing submissions in the near future. While his six colleagues at Apple Daily eventually pleaded guilty after time in detention, Lai says he is innocent of all charges and has been kept largely in solitary confinement for the past five years.
Responding to questions about whether Canada will seek to offer Lai citizenship, Carney said Oct. 16, “We first and foremost take responsibility for the citizens of Canada and the residents of Canada.”
In his later remarks that day, Carney said Canada is looking at where it can have overlap of economic interests with China, the same as what it is trying to do in the ongoing trade dispute with the United States.
“That’s part of what we’re doing with the United States,” Carney said. “[We’re] determining where can we trust the United States through ups and downs, and in what areas can we do that and where should we have that exposure. It’s a similar process with China. We are restarting broad engagement with China.”
Carney Talks About Meeting Chinese Premier
Speaking Oct. 16, Carney also referenced his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Sept. 23 at the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, saying it was a productive opportunity to look at the dependencies and exposures Canada has with China as its second-largest trading partner.
“When you have that situation, you end up with these dependencies and these exposures,” Carney said. “We have a broader trading relationship with China. There are different levers that we have, or opportunities that we have for China in Canada, and we are in the process of having those discussions on a much broader range of issues than single sectors and single trades.”
China put 100 percent levies on Canadian canola oil, oil cakes, and peas in March, along with 25 percent tariffs on Canadian seafood and pork, seemingly in retaliation for 100 percent tariffs Ottawa applied on Chinese electric vehicles last year. China has agreed to drop the tariffs if Canada gets rid of the EV levies.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand is visiting China Oct. 16 and 17 as part of a broader trip that includes visits to Singapore and India.
“Our foreign minister, Minister Anand, is arriving in Beijing basically as we speak,” Carney said. “[She] will be meeting with her counterparts, and I expect to meet the senior Chinese leadership in the coming month or so, and we‘ll continue those discussions, and we’ll see where the trade relationship evolves.”
In addition to Carney’s call for Lai to be released, U.S. President Donald Trump said in August that he plans to “do everything I can to save him.” The Freedom for Gao Zhisheng Act, introduced in September by Congressman Chris Smith of New Jersey, also seeks the release of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng and Lai. The bill is currently being reviewed by several House committees and is still in the introductory phase.
The Conservatives are calling on Ottawa to take a different stance on China, noting that the federal government should pull the $1 billion loan it has earmarked for B.C. Ferries to build new vessels by a Chinese state-owned company.
“Prime Minister Carney met with Premier of China Li Qiang today. His result? ‘A constructive set of discussions based on earlier phone calls.’ No end or even relief from tariffs on our canola farmers and fish harvesters,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said on Sept. 23 following Carney’s meeting with Li.
“A hostile foreign regime slams our farmers and workers with tariffs and the Mark Carney Liberals hand them a $1 billion loan to build ships that could have gone to Canadian shipbuilders,” Poilievre said in a separate post on Aug. 21.
