Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai, testifies in front of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) at their September 16th hearing, entitled “A Son and Daughter’s Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai.”

                At today’s Capitol Hill hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), lawmakers examined the unjust imprisonment of Jimmy Lai—a well-known free-speech advocate and the publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily—by Hong Kong officials, as well as what his case reveals about the continued erosion of the freedom of the press, judicial independence, and the rule of law in Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled Hong Kong.

                “Today’s hearing is about Jimmy Lai—and an earnest appeal to Xi Jinping from Jimmy’s children to set him free on humanitarian grounds,” said Smith, the Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).

                Smith pushed for Jimmy’s release on humanitarian grounds, highlighting the “human dimension of this case.” He noted that “for more than five years, Jimmy Lai’s children have had to live with the reality that their father is imprisoned thousands of miles away,” and that Jimmy’s son, Sebastien, “has spoken publicly about the possibility that he may never see his father again.”

                “Jimmy’s children are grateful that President Trump has personally raised Jimmy Lai’s release with Xi Jinping, and they respectfully ask him to do so again at the upcoming summit,” said Smith. The hearing was intentionally scheduled in anticipation of the upcoming meeting between President Donald Trump and General Secretary Xi Jinping in Washington, D.C. on September 24^th.

                Given Jimmy’s advanced age—78-years-old—and the “serious concerns about his health,” Smith argued that “a 20-year sentence carries an obvious and deeply troubling humanitarian consequence. Sebastien has described it as a death sentence. That is why time matters.”

                Sebastien, who testified at today’s hearing about the urgency of his father’s release, spoke on behalf of himself and his sister, Claire—who was initially scheduled to testify alongside her brother, but was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.

                “My father learned of his own daughter’s diagnosis from a maximum-security prison. He cannot hold her hand. She wants nothing more than to have him with her for this fight. We hope the Chinese authorities will consider what compassionate release would mean for her, and for a 78-year-old man who has already suffered enough,” said Sebastien, the leader of the #FreeJimmyLai campaign.

                “America understands, in its bones, that freedom dies with the last man willing to defend it and that the cost of not standing up for liberty is not felt until it is too late. In my father, this nation has found a kindred spirit,” continued Sebastien.

                “A week from now, President Xi will be a guest in this city. Our appeal to him is simple: my father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice; his death in prison would be a disgrace. Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family and let him sit beside his daughter in her hardest moment.”

From left to right: Mark L. Clifford, Rep. Chris Smith, and Steve Yates.

                Also testifying at the hearing, entitled “A Son and Daughter’s Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai,” two expert witnesses—Steve Yates, the Senior Research Fellow for China and National Security and a Chung Ju Yung Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and Mark L. Clifford, the President of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong and author of The Troublemaker, a biography of Jimmy Lai—detailed how U.S. foreign policy towards Hong Kong must be adjusted to help secure Jimmy Lai’s and other political prisoners’ releases.

                Both Yates and Clifford stressed the importance of congressional action, including the immediate passage of the bipartisan and bicameral Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026 (HR 10406), introduced today by Smith in the House and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chairman of the CECC, in the Senate.

                The legislation would require the State Department to determine, within 30 days, whether abuse, medical neglect, torture, detention conditions, or other actions contributed to a political prisoner’s death and identify those responsible.

                The bill would then mandate sanctions, within 60 days, against responsible or complicit People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Hong Kong officials, requiring international coordination, as well as requiring regular reporting to Congress on the health of and access to Jimmy Lai and other political prisoners.

                Yates expressed that “the Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026 is a welcome addition… [to] strengthen the Executive Branch’s negotiating position with Chinese counterparts,” and Clifford noted that “Members of Congress and the Executive branch… have a special responsibility to help free Jimmy.”

                Smith concluded his remarks by reminding attendees that Jimmy Lai is “a businessman who built a successful enterprise; a publisher who believed that people should be free to read, write, criticize, and debate; a Catholic who has spoken openly about his faith; and a father whose children are asking for the chance to have their dad home.”

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