Up First from NPR - Israel-Hamas, U.S. Border Negotiations, Jimmy Lai On Trial

Episode Date: December 18, 2023

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urges a wind-down in Israel's major combat operations. Republicans in Congress seek tighter border controls in exchange for Ukraine and Israel aid. Newspaper founder Jimmy Lai goes on trial in Hong Kong.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Ally Schweitzer, and Michael Sullivan. It was produced by Claire Murashima, David West and Kaity Kline. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors. And our technical director is Zac Coleman.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Israel today. The White House wants leaders to wind down major combat operations in Gaza. Pressure is growing on Netanyahu after Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages. I'm Ami Martinez with Michelle Barton, and this is Up First from NPR News. Before Republicans in Congress make a deal on funding for Ukraine and Israel, they want Democrats to tighten immigration on the U.S. southern border. How much is the White House willing to give up, and what could it mean for asylum seekers? And in Hong Kong, pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai is on trial today after three years in detention.

He's facing a maximum sentence of life in prison under China's sweeping national security law. Why is Beijing prosecuting his case so aggressively? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Now Our Change will honor 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to our change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits Israel today. He is there as the Biden administration continues to urge Israel to scale back its air and ground campaign in Gaza. The U.S. wants Israel to more carefully target Hamas and its leaders as the death toll in Gaza stands at nearly 19,000. That's according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. For more, we're joined by NPR's Kat Lonstorf, who is in Tel Aviv. Kat, good to talk with you.

Hey, Michelle. So let's start with the situation in Gaza. What can you tell us? Well, it's been really, really difficult to get information here. And that's because there was an extended communications blackout in Gaza for the past four days or so. That's no cell service, no internet. Coms were partially restored last night. We finally heard from our producer there, Anas Baba, who is safe, which was a huge relief. But comms are really still shaky. We have been able to get some information, both from groups in Gaza, but also from the Israeli military. For example, the military confirmed yesterday that they have completed a four-day, what they called, raid on the Kamal Adwin Hospital in the north in Gaza City.

The Israeli military claims the hospital had been, quote, used by Hamas as a major command center and that weapons had been seized there. But I should note that the situation at Qamal Adwin was already extremely dire. A senior doctor there earlier described to NPR a stream of wounded patients with complex injuries who have overwhelmed the hospital, which was also being used as a shelter for thousands of people. We've been unable to reach that doctor for several days as well. And this is all as intense fighting continues and more and more people are fleeing to the south, which is becoming severely overcrowded. Yes. Can you tell us any more about the humanitarian situation there? Yeah. I mean, it's really bad.

In and around Rafah City, where people have been told by Israel to flee, there are now about a million people or nearly half of Gaza's population. Some are staying in tents. Many people are staying in apartments packed with more than 50 people in them, making it really hard to maintain, you know, any kind of sanitary conditions. So disease is spreading, according to the World Health Organization, and food is really hard to come by. Now, there was some good news. Israel opened a second crossing for aid yesterday, the Kerem Shalom crossing, which goes in and out between Israel and Gaza. And a few dozen aid trucks did get through there, as well as the aid that is coming in through Rafah crossing from Egypt. But, you know, aid groups say that it's just not nearly enough.

And let me just ask about the big news in Israel over the weekend was the three Israeli hostages who were mistakenly shot and killed by Israeli troops. What are you hearing about that where you are? Yeah, I mean, people were really shocked here when that news broke on Friday night. You know, three hostages were all Israeli, all men in their 20s, and they were killed on Friday in an active combat area in northern Gaza. The men were dressed in civilian clothes and waving a white cloth, walking toward Israeli soldiers when they were shot, according to a preliminary report by the Israeli military. A military spokesman said

that the shootings were against the army's rules of engagement and were being investigated at the highest level. But, you know, people here are upset. There have been protests here in Tel Aviv this weekend with people, you know, increasingly calling for and demanding for a new hostage deal or even a permanent ceasefire. And the families of the hostages were already putting a lot of pressure on the government, saying that these hostages have to be the top priority. And those calls are getting even louder now. They've started camping out 24-7 in front of the war cabinet building here in Tel Aviv until a new deal is reached, they say.

That is NPR's Kat Lonsdorf from Tel Aviv. Kat, thank you so much. Thank you. The U.S. Senate has postponed its winter break so lawmakers can try to reach a deal on immigration. Republican presidential candidates have been talking a lot about immigration, and President Biden is facing a decision about how much to compromise on as congressional Republicans demand tighter border security as a condition for aid to Ukraine and Israel. Here to talk about the latest on that is NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Danielle, good morning. Good morning. So just help us understand what's going on between Biden and Congress. Sure. So like you said at the top, the White House has been seeking more aid for Ukraine and Israel, and Republicans have said

that they will approve that money, but only if they get tighter border policy. So not just resources at the border, for example, but substantial changes to make immigration policy much tighter. So as a result, the White House has said it's willing to give up some ground on immigration in order to get that funding. For example, Republicans want to make it harder for immigrants to get asylum. So that could be part of a deal. But again, we are in early stages here. Details are sketchy. But for context here, if there were a deal on this, it could be big. As one immigration expert told me over the weekend, this could be the biggest immigration policy change since the late 90s. But it's unclear what the timing would look like. The White House has said the need for money for Ukraine is urgent. But then again, Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham told NBC's Meet the Press this weekend that there won't be a deal before the new year, that things are just slow going. So, you know, this might be helpful for context, too, because you've been reporting on the race for the Republican presidential nomination. What are those candidates saying

about immigration? Oh, immigration is absolutely huge among the Republican candidates. The candidates and voters alike talk about immigration a lot, about fears about immigration, about threats that they think it poses. And in particular, the candidates use immigration to hit President Biden. So, of course, this means that immigration will probably be important to Biden in 2024 because the Republican nominee will attack him on it no matter what. And depending on how much Biden compromises here, again, if this deal happens, he could also anger progressives. I spoke to one Democratic strategist this weekend who told me that compromise could be a huge letdown for some progressive Democrats and

non-progressives. He pointed out that if funding for these war zones weren't on the line, Democrats would ask for, for example, a path to citizenship in exchange for making asylum harder. The fear for some Democrats is that their party will get no immigration concessions here, and no one knows when the next opportunity to change immigration policy would even be. So back to the Republican side, the former President Donald Trump is still the candidate to beat in the GOP primary. And, you know, attacking immigrants has always been, at least some immigrants, has always been part of his political message. What's he been saying recently? Well, immigration is central to his message, as usual.

This weekend in New Hampshire, in a campaign speech, in fact, Trump said that immigrants are, quote, poisoning the blood of the United States. And that is language that echoes language Adolf Hitler once used, as the Biden campaign was quick to point out. And this is not the first time that Trump has used this phrase. He used it on a right-wing talk show earlier this year. Furthermore, last month, he also called left-leaning Americans vermin in a speech. That's another echo of Nazi language. Now, I reached out to the Trump campaign asking why he repeated that poisoning the blood phrase. I have not heard a response. But to zoom out here, let's remember that in his 2015 campaign announcement speech, like you pointed out there, Michelle, he used inflammatory language against immigrants then

as well. He linked them to violent crime, for example. And rather than alienating voters, it endeared many to him. And that campaign showed the GOP just how much appetite there is among their base for hardline immigration policy. So what we're seeing on Capitol Hill, in part, is a party that learned from Trump just how motivating immigration is for voters. That is NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben. Danielle, thank you. Yeah, thank you. A major trial is kicking off in Hong Kong this week. Jimmy Lai, the media tycoon and democracy activist, is going to court after more than a thousand days in detention. Lai was arrested in 2020. The newspaper he started called Apple Daily was shut down the following year.

China is prosecuting Lai under the country's sweeping national security law. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. With us to explain why this trial is so important is NPR's Emily Fang, who is nearby in Taiwan. Good morning, Emily. Good morning, Michelle. So why is Hong Kong prosecuting Lai so aggressively? Well, because Jimmy Lai has become a symbol of opposition against Beijing's control of the region. Everyone in Hong Kong knows his story, how he escaped as a child stowaway to Hong Kong and then had this extraordinary rise as a textile and clothing mogul. And his fortune is

what kept Apple Daily going. This was an influential tabloid that was unabashedly in support of democratic reform and anti-government protests. And that put Lai on the crosshairs. He's currently serving a five-year sentence for fraud, but today he's on trial for much more serious charges of collusion with foreign forces under the national security law. This is a closely watched trial in Hong Kong today. There were journalists outside the courthouse, a few supporters, but mostly hundreds of police guarding the courthouse where he's being tried. Here's Lai's son, Sebastian Lai, who lives in Taiwan. Hong Kong's trying to tell the rest of the world that they're open for business,

that they want foreign direct investment. But if you essentially criminalize journalism, you know, just supporting democracy, well, it's very hard to do that. He says his father's case is being turned into a political show for Beijing to show just how aggressively it will punish any dissent. Are other people besides Lai being targeted by authorities?

Oh, absolutely. I mean, they've basically smothered all opposition in Hong Kong. Independent media outlets have mostly closed, like Apple Daily, or a few people who haven't been arrested have moved abroad. They've sentenced many activists and lawmakers who spoke out or protested sometimes years before the national security law took effect. And they're also going after people living abroad. So this month, for example, Hong Kong's government issued more arrest warrants offering rewards of hundreds of thousands of dollars for anyone who could turn in five activists who live outside of Hong Kong. One of these activists is Simon Cheng.

He was detained while working as a trade officer at the British consulate in Hong Kong. And it's his advocacy against Beijing in the United Kingdom that he's wanted for. They try to do a political show, no matter where you are, no matter what nationality you're holding, provided you're critical of their Chinese leadership or the government's policy, and you'll be the target, and you're violating their own law, and they will hunt you down. So when do we expect a verdict? And is there any chance there might be an acquittal? Lai's legal team is saying that the trial is going to take at least a few weeks. There's estimates of up to 80 days. So this trial is going to stretch

far into early 2024. Chances for an acquittittal for lie are very low. So far, there has been a 100% conviction rate with people charged under the national security law. Even if he is acquitted, he faces multiple other sentences that he's already been found guilty for. That is NPR's Emily Fang in Taiwan. Emily, thank you so much. Thank you, Michelle. And that's up first for Monday, December 18th. I'm Michelle Martin. And I'm Amy Martinez. Today's episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Allie Schweitzer, and Michael Sullivan. It was produced by Claire Murashima, David West, and Katie Klein. We get engineering support from Phil Edfors, and our technical director

is Zach Coleman. And as always, join us again tomorrow. Thanks for listening to Up First. You can find more in-depth coverage of the stories we talked about today and a lot more on NPR's Morning Edition. That is the radio show that I host along with A. Martinez, Leila Fadal, and Steve Inskeep. Find Morning Edition on your local NPR station at stations.npr.org.