Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Dear members of Parliament, I am very grateful to be able to testify in front of all of you about my father's ongoing show trial. Before I start, I want to thank all of you for the unanimous consent motion that was passed, asking for my father to be freed.
Hong Kong is a litmus test of how China views the values of the free world. For years Hong Kong has been a city with a dual status. Its institutions were once grounded in the rule of law while under Beijing's autocratic regime. The hope was that China would eventually adopt Hong Kong's systems and would grant civil liberties to its people. Instead, many Chinese and Hong Kong elites now hold foreign passports in order to be protected by these freedoms in free countries while they crack down on them at home.
In contrast, my father has chosen to stay in Hong Kong and not turn his back on the principles he has championed for over 30 years—those that underpin freedom and democracy. At the age of 76, the price for doing the right thing is that he now faces a sham trial that could see him imprisoned for the rest of his life.
My father is currently on trial on trumped-up charges under a national security law designed to silence all dissenting voices. Since the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989, my father has been one of the most vocal critics of the Chinese communist regime. He founded Apple Daily, a newspaper that spoke truth to power, and became a beacon for the city's pro-democracy movement. For this, Hong Kong authorities are now attempting to paint my father, a newspaper publisher, as a dangerous traitor, with charges of colluding with foreign forces and sedition.
The trial is set for 80 days. It is being held with no jury but with a panel of three judges hand-picked by the city's chief executive. The UN special rapporteur on torture last week called for an investigation into reports that evidence of one of the prosecution witnesses was obtained by torture. In spite of all this, the Hong Kong authorities continue to insist that the city still upholds the rule of law and that its judiciary remains independent. My father's trial is proof that neither holds true.
Hong Kong is brazenly cracking down on its citizens' fundamental freedoms while lying to the world that it remains a rule of law-compliant jurisdiction. They do so on the assumption that democratic countries like Canada will turn a blind eye because of the size of China's economy. The authorities also draw confidence to do so from judges from democratic countries, including Canada, who continue to sit on the city's Court of Final Appeal.
My father's show trial is a blatant perversion of Hong Kong's justice system to persecute one of the most ardent defenders of democracy. Canada has the power to hold the city accountable for ripping away these freedoms from its people. The pursuit of democracy is not a crime. As a son, I hope that you can help save my father.
Thank you.