‘Brutal’: Kovrig Warns of Jimmy Lai’s Plight, Recalling His Own Ordeal in Chinese Prison

Former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig is raising concerns about the physical and mental health of jailed Hong Kong democracy activist and publisher Jimmy Lai, citing the “inhuman” conditions he endured during his own detention in Beijing between December 2018 and September 2021.

Testifying before a Nov. 6 House Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development on the detention of Lai in Hong Kong, Kovrig raised the alarm about Lai’s well-being, saying that, based on his own experience, the conditions under which prisoners of the Chinese regime are typically held take a serious toll on both body and mind.

Kovrig, who is now a think tank scholar, was detained in China in 2018 for more than 1,000 days along with fellow Canadian Michael Spavor as part of Beijing’s retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition warrant.

Kovrig said that lights in Chinese prisons are kept on around the clock, which can make prisoners lose track of the time of day and disrupt their circadian rhythms. He described a typical day beginning with a 6:30 a.m. wake-up bell, followed by periods in which prisoners must sit on the edge of their bunk and “reflect on your crimes or study if you happen to have the fortune of access to books, which is often not the case,” he said.

But beyond the arduous routine, limited opportunities for exercise, and nutrient-poor meals prisoners typically receive, Kovrig said the most challenging aspect is the “very close and utterly confined circumstances” in which they are held.

“I need to underline that for the situation of someone like Jimmy, it is the isolation and the confinement that have an utterly devastating toll on both the psyche and on the nervous system and on the body,” Kovrig said.

“It is brutal punishment, frankly, and it is inhuman, and the solitary confinement, in particular, under the [United Nation]’s Istanbul Protocol, is unquestionably torture.”

Lai, 77, is the founder of Apple Daily, a Hong Kong newspaper that was shut down in 2021. He has been a vocal critic of the Chinese communist regime and a long-time supporter of the pro-democracy movement.

Lai was arrested in December 2020 under the Beijing-imposed national security law for alleged national security offences. He has also been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement—a practice the United Nations considers a form of torture.

“The confinement of these imprisonments, and the grinding routine and monotony, all contributes to grinding you down, and that is exactly the purpose of it, unfortunately,” Kovrig said.

Kovrig said that, considering Lai’s age and existing health problems, the conditions of his detention put his health at heightened risk. He noted that food at Chinese prisons “usually is utterly devoid of protein and is mostly overcooked vegetables and rice or bread.”

“You will have three meals a day, but as the guards once told me, ‘we make sure that you are able to eat enough; it’s not our responsibility to make sure you eat well,’” Kovrig recalled.

“That, especially over time for a detainee like Jimmy Lai, can start to have grave health effects in terms of muscle loss, bone mineral density, and other health effects.”

Calls for Lai’s Release

Also testifying at the Nov. 6 House committee meeting was Brandon Silver, director of policy and projects at the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. He said the upcoming G7 foreign affairs ministers’ meeting, to be hosted by Canada in the Niagara region, is the “perfect opportunity” for Ottawa to issue a joint call for Lai’s release.

The meeting will take place Nov. 11 to 12 and will bring together the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada to discuss global issues. Ministers from outreach countries, including Australia, Brazil, India, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, and Ukraine, are also expected to attend.

Silver said that given Beijing’s “authoritarian playbook on lawfare and attacking press freedom, and the need for a commensurate response from the community of democracies to uphold our shared values, there is no better moment to do so than next week via the G7.”

“The case of Jimmy Lai is a point of unity in this Parliament, across party lines, and amongst our allies in the G7,” he said. “We can use that opportunity to push back on these authoritarians.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney last month called for the release of Jimmy Lai after reporters questioned him about his perceived silence on the issue. Carney said he supports Lai’s release, citing Canada’s support of press freedom.

“I’m making the point on humanitarian grounds and our support for, as I say, support for freedom of the press, including in Hong Kong,” Carney said during an unrelated press conference in Etobicoke, Ont. Oct. 16.

Responding to questions about whether Canada will offer Lai honorary citizenship, Carney said, “we have processes to become Canadian citizens,” adding that Ottawa “first and foremost take[s] responsibility for the citizens of Canada and the residents of Canada.”

Kovrig said during the Nov. 6 House committee meeting that Canada should make every effort to help secure Lai’s release, noting the Hong Kong publisher’s efforts to defend what he described as Canadian values.

“Jimmy Lai is confined alone in a prison cell in Hong Kong—I understand what that’s like,” Kovrig said. “The confinement itself is raw suffering, the isolation and the loneliness grind on you, mind, body, and soul.

“Jimmy Lai is taking all of that suffering to defend the freedoms of speech and freedom of the press that Canadians hold so dear,” he added.