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Release Jimmy Lai, says US Vice President Mike Pence

蘋果日報 2020/12/13 05:17


Calls for the release of Jimmy Lai have gone out from the second highest office in the United States, as Vice President Mike Pence joins U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in focusing attention on the Apple Daily founder.
Lai is charged with “collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security.” He was seen chained at the waist when transported to court on Saturday morning, and continued to be remanded until a hearing on Apr. 16 next year.
Numerous international figures have condemned his detention. Pence said on Twitter that charges against Lai were “an affront to freedom loving people around everywhere.”
“Jimmy Lai is a hero and I remain inspired by his stand for democracy & the rights that were promised to the people of Hong Kong. #FreeJimmyLai,” he wrote.
Pompeo also tweeted: “Hong Kong’s National Security Law makes a mockery of justice.
“@JimmyLaiApple’s only ‘crime’ is speaking the truth about the Chinese Communist Party’s authoritarianism and fear of freedom. Charges should be dropped and he should be released immediately.”
Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that the use of the national security law to prosecute Lai and others was an attempt to silence anyone who dared to speak the truth.
The charges must be dropped, and those charged with harming Hong Kong’s freedom must be held accountable, he said.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China tweeted that charges against Lai were intended to intimidate a pro-democracy newspaper and anyone who criticized government policies.
“#HongKong prosecution’s failure to provide factual support heightens concerns about abuse of the new law. Political prosecutions must end,” it said.
Meanwhile, Republican Senator Rick Scott wrote to Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam urging her to release Lai and young jailed activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam.
“They haven’t committed actual crimes. They’re bravely using their voices to stand for freedom,” he tweeted.
The charge laid against Lai under the national security law was another concerning development for Hong Kong’s civil society and pro-democracy voices, said Nabila Massrali, European Union spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy. Fundamental freedoms must be respected and protected, she tweeted.
When asked for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ reaction to Lai’s charges, spokesperson Stephane Dujarric reiterated the U.N. chief’s “concern about the shrinking civic space in many places around the world,” the Associated Press reported.
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