Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  First, let me say that's a persistent problem. The dimension of the confrontation is very broad and multi-faceted. One of the things that our Congress tried to do to deal with that was to establish a select committee in the Congress, in the House of Representatives, headed by Ch

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Absolutely not. It's not a Canadian issue or problem. It's a problem in the United States. It's a problem in Europe. It's a problem in Asia. It's a problem for everybody who is participating in the fallacy that things are still the same in Hong Kong as they were five years ago. T

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The first thing they need to do is accept that those risks exist and then draw the consequences. It's not politically or economically realistic to think that all these business connections are just going to go away. That's not going to happen. But it should be more apparent to bu

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The whole trial itself is based upon a fallacious premise that, through both diplomatic and media means, we need to keep rebutting. There is no crime here, and yet Jimmy has already been pronounced guilty by the Chinese political authorities. If you go back and look at the media,

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I'm not the person best suited to address what's going on in Canada itself, but I am certain that their freedom to operate in Canada is not an issue. What is an issue is how the information and the work they're doing gets relayed back in Hong Kong and Asia. To the extent that y

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Let me say that it's been very encouraging to me, having been involved in this effort now for a little more than two years, to see the interest you have shown in Hong Kong and Jimmy Lai, and the growing sense that this is becoming an important issue, not just because you have so

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  The short answer is that we're working in a number of venues to encourage parliaments and governments to take action. It has not been as widespread as we would hope yet, but it is becoming an increasingly important conversation in various congresses and parliaments in Europe, as

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I don't read Chinese, but I suspect not. There is an entity called the Hong Kong Free Press that is still doing a pretty decent job. It's illustrative to watch the South China Morning Post,, which used to provide pretty free commentary on Hong Kong society and politics. It's a

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Sure. I'll try to be briefer this time given the time limits. It's actually a crucial element of what's happening. The way this works is that the government makes an example of one person, or one entity, and then that creates a chilling effect on everybody else. It then gradual

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for your comments. First, on the specific issue of the Hong Kong economic and trade office in Toronto, the reason we have spoken about its operations is that, at least, in the United States—and I assume here in Canada, and wherever else it's located throughout the worl

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, thank you for the invitation to meet with the subcommittee today. This committee has heard much already about Jimmy Lai and repression in today's Hong Kong. It is an undeniable fact, no matter how hard the Chinese Communist Party and its instrum