Washington, May 8 (IANS) More than 100 bipartisan members of the US Congress have urged President Donald Trump to press Chinese President Xi Jinping for the release of jailed Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai during their upcoming meeting, warning that the 78-year-old’s health is rapidly deteriorating.
In a bicameral letter led by Representative Chris Smith and Senator Rick Scott, lawmakers said Lai’s 20-year prison sentence under Hong Kong’s National Security Law effectively amounts to a life sentence.
“As you engage with General Secretary Xi Jinping at the upcoming summit, we respectfully ask you to again raise the case of Hong Kong political prisoner Jimmy Lai and seek his release,” the lawmakers wrote in the May 7 letter to Trump.
The letter was signed by 107 lawmakers from both parties, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, Ro Khanna, Tom Cotton, Cory Booker, Tim Kaine, Raja Krishnamoorthi and Amy Klobuchar.
Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has become one of the most prominent symbols of Beijing’s crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.
“On February 9, 2026, Mr Lai—now 78—was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong’s National Security Law,” the lawmakers wrote. “Given his age and condition, this sentence amounts to spending the rest of his life behind bars.”
The lawmakers described the case as a humanitarian emergency.
“The humanitarian case for Mr. Lai’s freedom is urgent and undeniable,” the letter said. “He is a devout Catholic and successful entrepreneur who has already spent five years in detention, much of it in solitary confinement.”
The lawmakers added that Lai’s “health has declined in custody” and warned that “prolonged isolation and inadequate prison conditions only increase the risk of permanent harm.”
Representative Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said Trump had a rare opportunity to intervene directly with Xi.
“Given Jimmy Lai’s advanced age and ailing health, we urge President Trump—a tenacious, vocal advocate for Jimmy’s freedom—to again raise Jimmy’s case and call for his humanitarian release during his upcoming meeting with General Secretary Xi Jinping,” Smith said in a statement accompanying the letter.
“President Trump has an incredible, rare opportunity to speak to Xi, face-to-face, and personally ask him to free Jimmy Lai,” he added.
The letter also said Lai’s family and supporters had indicated that if released, he would leave Hong Kong and “withdraw from public life.” Lawmakers described that as “a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy.”
The signatories urged Trump to seek Lai’s “immediate release on humanitarian parole, so he can receive appropriate medical care and reunite with his family.”
Smith has long advocated for Lai’s release and has held multiple congressional hearings on Hong Kong and China’s use of the national security law. Lai’s daughter Claire attended Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address as Smith’s guest, while his son Sebastien testified before Congress in 2023 on political prisoners in Hong Kong.
–IANS
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