27-9-2023 (GENEVA) China is actively exerting pressure on nations to abstain from participating in an event organised by the United Kingdom at the United Nations in Geneva, centred on media freedom in Hong Kong. This event features the participation of the son of a prominent incarcerated media mogul, as indicated in a letter made public and confirmed by four diplomats on Tuesday, September 26.
Slated for the following day, this gathering, named ‘Media Freedom in Hong Kong,’ is being convened on the periphery of a month-long assembly of the UN Human Rights Council. Notable among the scheduled speakers is Sebastien Lai, the offspring of Jimmy Lai. This week marked Jimmy Lai’s 1,000th day of incarceration in a Hong Kong prison on charges related to the territory’s national security law and allegations of sedition, dating back to the period when Hong Kong was a British colony.
In a widely disseminated letter distributed among the diplomatic community at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the Chinese mission has formally requested countries to “refrain from participating in this event in any way.” The missive further emphasised that “Hong Kong-related issues are China’s internal affairs that brook no external interference,” according to the diplomatic note, which has been reviewed by Reuters.
The outreach to boycott this event doesn’t end with the letter, as four diplomats have verified receiving such communication. Among these diplomats, three disclosed that Chinese envoys have embarked on individual contacts with some nations, urging them not to attend or lend support to the event in any form. These diplomats, however, declined to reveal their identities due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Despite these efforts, as per an official document, at least 22 countries have already signed up as co-sponsors for the event. Among them are prominent nations such as the United States, France, and Germany.
China’s diplomatic mission in Geneva has chosen not to respond to Reuters’ request for comment on this matter. On the other hand, the Hong Kong authorities have issued a generic statement, expressing condemnation for “misleading and slanderous remarks” by organisations and media outlets concerning the Lai case, which they perceive as unwarranted political interference.
The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office of the United Kingdom has affirmed its commitment to voicing “longstanding and legitimate concerns over the erosion of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong.” This statement refers to the Sino-British Joint Declaration, a document aimed at safeguarding Hong Kong’s autonomy when the territory was transferred from British to Chinese control in 1997.
Tensions on the diplomatic front between Chinese authorities and the United Kingdom have been escalating over the past few years. In a recent report, Britain asserted that the Hong Kong authorities have applied Beijing-imposed national security legislation “beyond genuine national security concerns.” Jimmy Lai’s trial, conducted under this new law, has been rescheduled for December 18 and is anticipated to span a remarkable 80 days.
China, one of the 47 member states of the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, is vying for re-election next month and has, on prior occasions, endeavored to counter criticisms of its human rights record. Notably, in the previous year, it urged the then-UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, not to release a much-anticipated report that suggested China’s arbitrary and discriminatory detention of Uyghurs in Xinjiang may constitute crimes against humanity.
