Instead of approaching Beijing as a supplicant seeking trade favors, Starmer has the rare opportunity to stand firm as a leader who defends what historically has been a jewel in the British crown: the principles of free speech, the rule of law and the protection of his own citizens. It’s a bleak future for the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, who has been languishing in solitary confinement since he was arrested in August 2020 — punished not for committing violence but for publishing the truth. The British government and its people helped protect Europe during the Cold War, defended dissidents in the Soviet bloc, held strong against the Nazis during World War II, and offered safe haven to exiles and victims of conscience.
Author: Elisha Maldonado
Published at: 2026-01-27 23:40:23
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