FAAE meeting 12 · 2025-11-06 — Committee Evidence — LegisWatch

Summary

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development met to study the case of Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong journalist and publisher imprisoned under the national security law. Witnesses included Sébastien Lai, his son and campaign leader; Brandon Silver from the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights; Jonathan N. Stivers from the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; Michael Kovrig, a former detainee in China; and Caoilfhionn Gallagher, Jimmy Lai’s lead international counsel.

Sébastien Lai described his father’s deteriorating health after nearly five years in solitary confinement, including diabetes and heart issues, and noted that the prosecution’s evidence was thin, inadvertently portraying his father as a peaceful advocate for democracy. He urged Canada to keep shining a light on the case and to press for his father’s release, emphasizing that the situation is urgent due to his age and health.

Brandon Silver highlighted that Jimmy Lai has been imprisoned for 1,772 days for supporting journalism and that his case exemplifies the struggle for shared values. He recommended that Canada, as G7 chair, spearhead a collective call for Lai’s release at the upcoming foreign ministers meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, and stressed that the national security law poses transnational threats to Canadians in Hong Kong.

Jonathan N. Stivers argued that Hong Kong’s repression has turned it into a hub for sanctions evasion, citing a new report on Canadian technology flowing to Russia through Hong Kong shell companies. He recommended coordinated diplomatic pressure with allies to secure Lai’s release, Magnitsky sanctions on Hong Kong officials, closing the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Toronto, and designating Hong Kong as a high-risk jurisdiction for money laundering.

Michael Kovrig, drawing on his own detention experience, called for massive, persistent advocacy integrated into all aspects of relations with China, including conditioning progress on Chinese wants on Lai’s release. He suggested exploring compassionate release on health grounds, rallying religious organizations, and working in tandem with allies to flip the cost-benefit analysis for Chinese authorities.

Caoilfhionn Gallagher described Jimmy Lai’s detention as a case of “lawfare” and noted that the UN working group on arbitrary detention found his imprisonment unlawful. She stressed that time is running out due to his health and that the trial, which could lead to a life sentence, is nearing its end, urging robust action rather than just words to avoid a death in custody.

The committee concluded with a procedural motion that was agreed to without debate.

AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.

Witnesses · 5

Sébastien Lai

Son of Jimmy Lai and Leader of the FreeJimmyLai Campaign , As an Individual

Opening remarks

Thank you very much for having me and for covering my father's story and struggle. I would like to first thank Canada for recently joining the call for my father's release. Obviously, both Parliament and the Senate have passed unanimous consent motions calling for my father's release. I would like to give a bit of an update since these calls were done. My father's trial is nearing its end. He has spent almost five years in prison at this point, in solitary confinement with natural light blocked off from his room, in a cell that is obviously not air conditioned. In the summer, it goes up to 30°C to 40°C. He will be 78 soon and has diabetes, so as you can imagine, we're incredibly worried about his life. In fact, recently he couldn't go to a trial because he had to be hooked up to a heart monitor because he was having heart issues. Throughout the trial, I think we've all been very strengthened to learn that there's no evidence, essentially. The evidence that the prosecution has presented has been incredibly thin. In fact, they have inadvertently painted my father as this man who gave everything that he has to stand up for freedom and democracy and who, through 20 to 30 years of…

Full testimony ↗

Brandon Silver

Director of Policy and Projects, Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights

Opening remarks

Honourable members, thank you for the opportunity to speak to the committee. I'd also like to convey Professor Cotler's warm regards to all of you. He would have been here testifying today if not for being on dialysis in the hospital. He's tuning in online and following closely, and he expresses his appreciation for your leadership in highlighting this case and in speaking out in Parliament for the release of Mr. Lai. Indeed, as we meet today, human rights hero Jimmy Lai is languishing in torturous prison conditions in Hong Kong at 77 years of age, suffering from diabetes. He has been in prison for 1,772 days. His crime...? Supporting journalism. As a British citizen with a twin sister and nieces and nephews in Canada, Mr. Lai could have easily fled. Instead, he stayed to lead the struggle for democracy, for human rights, for the rule of law and for media freedom in Hong Kong, and to be a lightning rod to protect all those who were fighting for the same things and campaigning for freedom. In so doing, he has become perhaps the most prominent and emblematic of political prisoner cases in the world, exemplifying the struggle for our shared values. As Canada embarks on a…