China - Hong Kong: Civil society organisations urge UK PM to stand up for Jimmy Lai

Credit: Studio Incendo (CC 2.0 AC)

15 December 2025: Following today’s unjust guilty verdict handed down to writer and media publisher Jimmy Lai, PEN International and English PEN have joined Hong Kong Watch and over 30 other civil society organisations in a joint letter addressed to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, urging him to to press for the release Jimmy Lai, a UK citizen.

A full transcript of the letter sent to the UK Prime Minister can be found below:

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15 December 2025

The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP, 

Prime Minister

10 Downing Street

London 

SW1A 2A

Dear Prime Minister,

Today, British citizen Jimmy Lai has been found guilty in his trial in Hong Kong, on two national security law charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He faces a sentence of up to life imprisonment. He has been imprisoned for 1,800 days, most of which in solitary confinement. He is 78 years old and in failing health. Unless he is released, he will almost certainly die in prison. 

The time for ‘raising concerns’ about these matters is past. Australia, Canada, and Ireland have all secured the release of detained or imprisoned citizens from China. The United Kingdom must show similar willingness to stand up for wrongfully prosecuted British citizens. This is particularly the case where, under the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, the United Kingdom has an international treaty obligation to guarantee rights and freedoms in Hong Kong – rights that have been repeatedly violated in the case of Jimmy Lai. 

If and when you visit the People’s Republic of China in the New Year, as reported in the press, any trade deal or economic concession offered to Beijing must be contingent upon the release of Jimmy Lai. The UK government must be prepared to demonstrate that it will not sacrifice the freedom of its citizens in order to receive vague assurances and promises of trade and investment in return. 

If Beijing is serious about acting as a responsible business partner in its relations with the United Kingdom, the release of Jimmy Lai should be a reasonable show of good faith. If not, it demonstrates the disregard with which this authoritarian regime treats the citizens of the United Kingdom and serves as a sharp warning of the risks involved in courting closer ties. 

We, the undersigned, trust that you will sincerely commit to doing everything in your power to free Jimmy Lai and let him reunite with his family. 

Yours sincerely,

• Hong Kong Watch 

• Fight for Freedom, Stand With Hong Kong

• Hongkongers in Britain

• The Rights Practice

• Index on Censorship

• World Uyghur Congress

• Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

• Nottingham Stands with Hong Kong

• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)

• Birmingham HongKongers

• Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation

• Hong Kongers in Leeds

• Re-Water 

• Assembly of Citizens’ Representatives, Hong Kong (ACRHK)

• The Hong Kong Scots

• Scottish Hongkongers

• Hong Kong Society in Scotland

• Britons in Hong Kong 

• Fortify Rights

• Democracy for Hong Kong (D4HK)

• Bonham Tree Aid

• Sutton Hongkong Culture and Arts Society 

• Independent Committee for Hong Kong Advocacy (ICHKA)

• Reading UK Stands with Hong Kong 

• Hong Kong Aid

• Hong Kong Democracy Council (HKDC)

• Human Rights in China

• International Tibet Network

• The European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance

• Safeguard Defenders

• Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD)

• English PEN

• PEN International

• No Business With Genocide

• Alliance for Citizens’ Rights