'Starmer should be ashamed of cosying up to China’s thugs', Megan Khoo

On Monday, Prime Minister Keir Starmer met Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Rio, marking the first time the UK and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have met in person at the highest level since 2018 due to a ‘recent souring in relations’. The next day saw the sentencing of 45 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Today, two days after Starmer shook Xi’s hand, sees the resumption of the trial of British citizen Jimmy Lai.

The UK government’s readout of the exchange highlights areas of mutual interest in which Starmer and Xi committed to deepening collaboration, including on trade and investment, education, health and the environment. The readout also gives a nod to Starmer raising human rights and regional concerns with Xi, including the deteriorating health of Jimmy Lai, Beijing’s sanctions on British Members of Parliament and Taiwan.

While Starmer raising the case of Jimmy Lai and his deteriorating health with Xi is most welcome, reading between the lines it is clear that Starmer did not call for Lai’s release. This was a missed opportunity, especially with the trial about to resume, and with Jimmy Lai expected to take the stand for the first time. The Government also left out the fact that British journalists were aggressively ushered out of the room as Starmer raised these human rights issues, leaving us uncertain as to what the response was from the PRC.

There is no reason that a British citizen has been held as a political prisoner behind bars for nearly four years, other than the fact that the Government is not doing enough. Lai is 76 years old and in ill health and behind bars simply for doing his job as a journalist and bravely advocating for democracy. He was determined to be ‘unlawfully and arbitrarily detained’ by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention last week. What more evidence of injustice against one of their very own citizens does the UK Government need? 

During the summit, Starmer proposed a bilateral meeting with Xi in London or Beijing ‘as soon as possible’. In this meeting, or in any other Cabinet-level meetings between UK and Chinese counterparts, British ministers must press for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai. The Prime Minister should also follow the example of Foreign Secretary David Lammy and urgently meet with Sebastien Lai, Jimmy’s son. 

The British economy and diplomatic exchanges matter, but they must not come at the expense of human rights. The new Government must not jump-start relations with China without completing its overdue UK-China audit, and seriously considering why UK-China relations turned frosty in the first place.

From Beijing imposing the draconian National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020 to the passage of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance in March this year, there have been hundreds of peaceful political prisoners, the forced closure of media outlets, and the cessation of all forms of public assembly in Hong Kong.

In Britain, there have been major security concerns around Huawei, which was legally banned by the government in 2022, and other Chinese technology companies. There has also been increasing worry around transnational repression by the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong governments against dissidents such as Bob Chan, who was beaten by the Consul General at the Chinese Consulate in Manchester, and six exiled Hong Kongers in the UK, who were issued arrest warrants with bounties for partaking in pro-democracy activities.

The UK itself launched its British National (Overseas) visa scheme to offer refuge for Hong Kongers in 2021, which has led to at least 180,000 Hong Kongers relocating to Britain. The UK must not lose sight of its duty to both the Hong Kongers who now call the UK home, as well as to Hong Kong under the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Starmer should be ashamed of cosying up to Xi against the backdrop of the unjust sentences of the Hong Kong 47 and the resumption of Jimmy Lai’s trial today. Starmer must back up his words with actions, before it’s too late.

The article was published in CapX on 20 November 2024.