{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=415837", "Ahead of planned Trump-Xi meeting in Washington, D.C.An appeal from Jimmy Lai\u2019s son", "2026-09-16", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher H. Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", "chrissmith", "https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx", "scraper", "At today\u2019s Capitol Hill hearing chaired by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), lawmakers examined the unjust imprisonment of Jimmy Lai\u2014a well-known free-speech advocate and the publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily\u2014by 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.\n\n\u201cToday\u2019s hearing is about Jimmy Lai\u2014and an earnest appeal to Xi Jinping from Jimmy\u2019s children to set him free on humanitarian grounds,\u201d said Smith, the Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC).\n\nSmith pushed for Jimmy\u2019s release on humanitarian grounds, highlighting the \u201chuman dimension of this case.\u201d He noted that \u201cfor more than five years, Jimmy Lai\u2019s children have had to live with the reality that their father is imprisoned thousands of miles away,\u201d and that Jimmy\u2019s son, Sebastien, \u201chas spoken publicly about the possibility that he may never see his father again.\u201d\n\n\u201cJimmy\u2019s children are grateful that President Trump has personally raised Jimmy Lai\u2019s release with Xi Jinping, and they respectfully ask him to do so again at the upcoming summit,\u201d 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 24th.\n\nGiven Jimmy\u2019s advanced age\u201478-years-old\u2014and the \u201cserious concerns about his health,\u201d Smith argued that \u201ca 20-year sentence carries an obvious and deeply troubling humanitarian consequence. Sebastien has described it as a death sentence. That is why time matters.\u201d\n\nSebastien, who testified at today\u2019s hearing about the urgency of his father\u2019s release, spoke on behalf of himself and his sister, Claire\u2014who was initially scheduled to testify alongside her brother, but was recently diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer.\n\n\u201cMy father learned of his own daughter\u2019s 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,\u201d said Sebastien, the leader of the #FreeJimmyLai campaign.\n\n\u201cAmerica 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,\u201d continued Sebastien.\n\n\u201cA 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.\u201d\n\nAlso testifying at the hearing, entitled \u201cA Son and Daughter\u2019s Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai,\u201d two expert witnesses\u2014Steve 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\u2014detailed how U.S. foreign policy towards Hong Kong must be adjusted to help secure Jimmy Lai\u2019s and other political prisoners\u2019 releases.\n\nBoth 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.\n\nThe 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\u2019s death and identify those responsible.\n\nThe bill would then mandate sanctions, within 60 days, against responsible or complicit People\u2019s 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.\n\nYates expressed that \u201cthe Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026 is a welcome addition\u2026 [to] strengthen the Executive Branch\u2019s negotiating position with Chinese counterparts,\u201d and Clifford noted that \u201cMembers of Congress and the Executive branch\u2026 have a special responsibility to help free Jimmy.\u201d\n\nSmith concluded his remarks by reminding attendees that Jimmy Lai is \u201ca 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.\u201d\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-17T09:52:05Z", "2026-09-17T09:53:00Z"]], "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=415837"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8451687172055244, "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"}