Jimmy Lai appeal to Xi Jinping

Rep. Chris Smith to chair hearing on imprisoned Catholic democracy advocate 78 year old Jimmy Lai

The Sept. 16 hearing is timed just ahead of a planned Trump-Xi summit that Catholic advocates say offers another chance to press for the release of Lai, whose faith played a key role in his opposition to Beijing’s crackdown on democracy advocates.

Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, will lead the Sept. 16 hearing titled, “A Son and Daughter's Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai,” scheduled for 9:30 a.m. in the Rayburn House Office Building and livestreamed publicly.

Planned witnesses include Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, who leads the #FreeJimmyLai campaign; Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and author of a Lai biography; and a senior China researcher from the Heritage Foundation.

The hearing follows a year of escalating diplomatic appeals. After a May summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he had personally raised Lai’s case, but that Xi’s response “was not positive.”

"He told me that would be a tough one," Trump said, contrasting it with China's apparent openness to releasing detained pastor Ezra Jin.

As the Trump-Xi summit approaches, Smith’s hearing next week will mark the latest attempt by American lawmakers to keep pressure on Beijing over Lai’s case.

Read about Jimmy Lai

Jimmy Lai the China political prisoner

Trump says Xi told him release of Jimmy Lai ‘would be a tough one’

China systematically suppresses democratic movements both domestically and abroad

After his two-day meeting in China this week, President Donald Trump said May 15 that Chinese leader Xi Jinping responded negatively when he raised the potential release of Jimmy Lai, the Catholic, pro-democracy advocate a Hong Kong court recently sentenced to 20 years in prison.

According to Reuters, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One during his return flight to the U.S. that Xi was “giving very serious consideration” to releasing Zion Church founder Pastor Jin Mingri but indicated Lai’s case would be “a tough one.”

“He told ⁠me that would be a tough one,” Trump said.

In an interview with FOX News Channel’s “Special Report,” the President added that Xi’s response to the request “was not positive.”

Trump said that Xi “went through a whole thing and I said, ‘Well, we'd appreciate if you would release him. He's gotten old, and he's probably not ​feeling too well. It would be nice.’ And I did not feel ​optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one,” according to Reuters.

Wikipedia: Lai Chee-ying, also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong businessman, politician, and political prisoner. He founded the clothing retailer Giordano, the media company Next Digital, and the newspaper Apple Daily. He is one of the main contributors to Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, especially to the Democratic Party.

Read the bio of Jimmy Lai