Ah, David, my dear fellow, Benjamin Disraeli here.

I see you've taken a fancy to the art of international moral instruction.

Bravo for your call to release Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong – a publisher, no less, who dared to displease the powers that be.

Admirable, indeed, if it weren't so delectably ironic.

Now, if I may be so bold, allow me to offer a scrap of counsel from my humble abode in the great beyond.

Before you gallantly charge at the windmills of Chinese jurisprudence, might you first cast a glance in your own backyard?.

Ah, yes, the curious case of Julian Assange, a lingering specter in the British corridors of justice.

Thirteen years, David! Thirteen long years this chap's been holed up for the crime – if you can call it that – of brandishing the truth, albeit a tad uncomfortably for some.

And yet, here he remains, confined within your very own shores, not for some heinous act, but for being a bit too candid with the pen.

So, dear David, might I suggest a dash of consistency?.

Lead by example, as it were.

If we're to preach the gospel of free press and fair play to our friends in the Far East, let's first ensure our own house is in order.

Freeing Mr. Assange might just lend that extra ounce of credibility to your noble entreaties.

After all, nothing says 'genuine concern' like practicing what one preaches, wouldn't you agree?.