— U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) reintroduced the bipartisan “Jimmy Lai Way Act” (H.R. 2522) Monday with a bipartisan group of House colleagues. The bill renames the street in front of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Washington, DC, as “1 Jimmy Lai Way” in honor of the jailed entrepreneur and democracy advocate. The HKETO is the representative office of the Hong Kong government in the nation’s capital.

   Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered newspaper Apple Daily, is currently on trial, facing National Security Law charges in part because of his conversations with Members of Congress and Administration officials in 2019. He has been detained for over five years, mostly in isolation, and his family fears that a lack of medical attention, exercise, and access to sunlight has taken a toll on the health of the 77-year-old media tycoon.

   Representatives Tom Suozzi (D-NY), John Moolenaar (R-MI) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) joined Smith as cosponsors of the Jimmy Lai Way Act. Moolenaar is the Chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, and Krishnamoorthi is the ranking member. Suozzi cosponsored the bill in the 118th Congress and, with Smith, is a Co-chair of the Congressional Uyghur Caucus. Smith is the Co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China.  

   “By renaming the street in honor of Jimmy Lai, we show solidarity and offer our continued support for this champion of democracy and human rights and all those in Hong Kong arbitrarily detained simply for exercising rights the Chinese Communist Party guaranteed them in an international treaty,” said Smith. “Yesterday’s sanctions underscore that freedom for the people of Hong Kong is a priority for the Trump Administration. President Trump boldly promised to gain Jimmy Lai’s release raising the stakes for the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.”

   “Honoring Jimmy Lai is a powerful statement of our unwavering commitment to those who courageously stand up for freedom and democracy, despite the oppressive forces they face,” said Moolenaar. “Jimmy Lai’s fight against the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party embodies the resilient spirit of the people of Hong Kong, and this tribute sends a clear message: we will not forget their struggle, and we will not rest until all political prisoners are free.”

   “More than four years ago, Jimmy Lai, a champion of press freedom and democracy, was unjustly imprisoned by the Hong Kong authorities at the behest of their autocratic overseers, the Chinese Communist Party,” said Krishnamoorthi. “Renaming this intersection in the District of Columbia in Mr. Lai’s honor is a powerful symbol of our commitment to free speech and the rule of law and reminds the CCP that the world will hold them accountable for their continuing assault on human rights and individual liberty in Hong Kong and beyond.”

   “Naming a street in our nation’s capital after Jimmy Lai sends a clear message to the world: the United States stands in solidarity with freedom fighters who oppose authoritarianism and repression,” said Suozzi. “The Chinese Communist Party’s crimes against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, its erosion of democracy in Hong Kong, and its increasingly provocative posturing toward Taiwan must continue to be brought to the attention of the free world.”

   Lai is one of over 1,500 political prisoners in Hong Kong, among them Nobel Peace Prize nominees Joshua Wong, Chow Hang-tung, Lee Cheuk-Yan, and Gwyneth Ho Kwai-lam. Only Burma and Belarus have arbitrarily detained political prisoners at a higher rate in recent times.            

   Smith nominated Jimmy Lai for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. Lai was nominated along with Uyghur intellectual Ilham Tohti, Mongolian academic Hada, journalist and women’s rights advocate Sophia Huang Xueqin, and Protestant pastor Wang Yi. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) joined Smith in making the 2025 nominations.  That letter can be viewed here.

 ###