{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415201", "Jimmy Lai\u2019s son, Sebastien, testified at CECC hearingRep. Smith on the shameful conviction of Hong Kong businessman and democracy/free speech champion, Jimmy Lai", "2025-12-19", "2025", "2025-12", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), issued the below statement following a Hong Kong court\u2019s unjust conviction of Jimmy Lai\u2014the founder of newspaper Apple Daily and an outspoken advocate for democracy and free speech\u2014on fraudulent, politically motivated national security and sedition charges:\n\n\u201cJimmy Lai\u2019s \u2018guilty\u2019 verdict by a Hong Kong court\u2014clearly orchestrated by the Chinese Communist Party\u2014is an affront to justice everywhere. Promoting democratic ideals and free speech is not, and should not be, a crime.\n\n\u201cIn addition to Jimmy\u2019s leadership as an advocate for democracy and free speech, he is a model of Christian conscience and a hero of the Catholic Faith. Though an evil regime seeks to crush him, his witness to Truth\u2014and to Jesus as the Truth\u2014will outlive and outshine his oppressors.\n\n\u201cRight now, Jimmy has been deprived of medical care, and his health is declining due to harsh prison conditions. We call upon Hong Kong authorities to release Jimmy on simple humanitarian grounds, as a humane gesture to him and his family.\u201d\n\nAt a Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) hearing chaired by Smith in 2023, entitled \u201cOne City, Two Legal Systems: Political Prisoners and the Erosion of the Rule of Law in Hong Kong,\u201d Jimmy\u2019s son, Sebastien, gave compelling testimony about how his father has been vilified and targeted by the CCP and Hong Kong authorities:\n\n\u201cMy father has never advocated for violence. He is a man of peace. His only so-called \u2018crime\u2019 is to disagree and condemn the actions of the CCP and the Hong Kong authorities that seek to silence critical voices. For that, he faces the rest of his life in prison.\n\n\u201cMy father is a victim of an autocratic State which will not tolerate dissent or criticism. It is clear that there is no longer \u2018One Country, Two Systems\u2019 but that Beijing is now controlling Hong Kong. The [National Security Law] spells that out. His treatment is grossly unfair.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:09:11Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415201"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8659460581839085, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}