Rights Group ‘Disappointed’ by Ottawa’s Decision to Halt Honorary Citizenship for Hong Kong Democracy Activist Jimmy Lai

Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily founder, arrives at the Court of Final Appeal ahead a bail hearing in Hong Kong, on Feb. 9, 2021. Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

A human rights group says it is “disappointed” after the federal government told a Liberal MP this week not to move forward with a motion to grant honorary Canadian citizenship to Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, who has been in solitary confinement for more than four years for his criticism of the Chinese regime.

Liberal MP Judy Sgro, who was leading efforts to table a unanimous-consent motion to grant Lai honorary citizenship ahead of the G7 leaders’ summit in Alberta, was told by Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon on June 11 that she could not present it. Unanimous consent allows for a motion to be adopted without debate as long as no member objects.

The motion had secured support from MPs across all parties and some senators, and was intended to draw international attention to Lai’s imprisonment by the Chinese regime as world leaders prepare to meet in Canada for the summit from June 15 to 17.

Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, said the motion would have had a significant impact on Lai’s case if it had gone ahead.

“To put it in one word, we are very disappointed,” Kwan told The Epoch Times. “I think that the act of giving [Lai] honorary citizenship would not only draw attention, but put a lot of international pressure on China.”

He argues the government likely shelved the motion to avoid straining relations with China. “I think sometimes you have to show strength when you are dealing with China,” Kwan said.

The office of the Government House Leader said it has “no comment with regards to this specific case,” but said it does not believe “that serious and substantive foreign policy issues should be decided without any debate.”

“There are other tools that MPs can use, such as Private Members’ Motions and committee studies to raise issues of importance, and this will ensure that MPs get a chance to participate in a debate before making a decision,” a spokesperson for the office told The Epoch Times in a statement.

Sgro said she was “shocked” after being told she could not present the motion.

“I had everybody on side and ready to move forward yesterday at noon. But then somewhere, something went off the rails,” she said on June 12, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

She added the House leader was “clearly very frustrated” with having to convey the message “because he knew how much I had been working on it.” She said she plans to continue efforts to present the motion.

Lai, 77, is a long-time supporter of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party.

He founded the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and was arrested in Hong Kong in December 2020 under the Beijing-imposed national security law. He has since been held in solitary confinement, with supporters expressing concern about his deteriorating health conditions, including diabetes.

Lai was designated as a prisoner of conscience last year by Amnesty International.

In introducing the proposal on June 10 to grant Lai honorary citizenship, MP Sgro said Lai stands for “values cherished by Canadians: media freedom and the rule of law.”

“Despite his age and health issues, Mr. Lai remains imprisoned in torturous conditions under Hong Kong’s repressive national security law, the provisions of which are inconsistent with international human rights law,” Sgro said.

NDP MP Jenny Kwan, who was born in Kong Kong, said Lai “stands for basic human rights.”

“The reality is the Chinese government brought forward a national security law that stripped Hong Kongers [of] their basic rights, that those who dare to speak up and to fight against this were persecuted,” she said during a June 10 press conference.

“Jimmy Lai is one of those individuals—he dared to speak truth to power.”