Imprisonment of Jimmy Lai

That this House notes with deep concern the forthcoming trial of Mr Jimmy Lai, a British citizen, founder and proprietor of the Apple Daily newspaper, under the National Security Law in Hong Kong; expresses alarm at the prospect that he will not receive a fair trial, and has been denied his first choice of legal counsel; further notes with profound concern his continued imprisonment on multiple other charges for the past three years; expresses urgent concern that, having marked his 76th birthday on 8 December, he faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison in Hong Kong; observes that his unjust arrest and imprisonment illustrate the grave dismantling of freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom of peaceful assembly, democracy and the rule of law in Hong Kong; welcomes the recent meeting of the Foreign Secretary with Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai; urges the Government to lead the international community in highlighting the human rights situation in Hong Kong in general, calling for the repeal of the National Security Law in particular and for the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai specifically, in the forthcoming Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations; and calls on the Government to publicly and repeatedly demand the immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai, as the United States, the European Parliament, and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of assembly and of association, among others, have done.