A neon light exhibit featuring Jimmy Lai, the detained Nobel Peace Prize nominee, will be on display in Sydney until the announcement of this year’s prize. Jimmy Lai, the founder of Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, is currently facing trial on charges related to sedition and collusion with foreign forces under the national security law. The 75-year-old media tycoon has been a prominent critic of the Chinese Communist Party and was arrested in 2020 for violating the national security law.
Lai has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by bipartisan American policymakers alongside five other Hong Kong activists. The nomination seeks to honor those in Hong Kong who have peacefully opposed the erosion of democratic freedoms by the local and Chinese governments. To express their concerns, an Australian attorney named Mark Tarrant came up with the idea of a neon light exhibit. The exhibit aims to capture the nostalgia of Hong Kong’s vibrant neon signs, which were a symbol of the city’s economic prosperity but have now been largely removed due to government regulations.
Tarrant believes that many Australians have a strong emotional connection to Hong Kong and want to show their sympathy for Lai’s incarceration and support his nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. The neon artist, Steven Coles, who designed the exhibit, flew from Melbourne to attend its debut in Sydney’s Town Hall. The exhibit has received positive feedback from Hong Kongers living in Sydney who have signed their support on the back of the neon light display.
Some attendees at the exhibit’s debut called on the Australian government to raise the issue of Jimmy Lai with the Chinese regime. They hope that the Australian government will not abandon its principles or values, and that it will advocate for a fair trial and treatment of Lai. They also expressed a desire for the Australian government to address the detention of Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun, two Australians currently detained in China.
Prime Minister Albanese has confirmed that he will visit China by Christmas to push for the easing of trade sanctions but has stated that the visit will not be conditional on the release of Cheng Lei. The prime minister believes that dialogue and engagement between nations should not be transactional and that communication should continue even in the face of disagreements. The Sydney city council has approved the request to display the Jimmy Lai neon light exhibit in a vacant shop in Sydney until the announcement of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner. The Epoch Times has reached out to Sydney Mayor Clover Moore and New South Wales Premier Chris Minns for comments on the exhibit.