[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2522 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2522
To designate the area between the intersections of 18th Street
Northwest and Church Street Northwest, and 18th Street Northwest and P
Street Northwest, in the District of Columbia as ``Jimmy Lai Way'', and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 31, 2025
Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, and Mr. Suozzi) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and
in addition to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To designate the area between the intersections of 18th Street
Northwest and Church Street Northwest, and 18th Street Northwest and P
Street Northwest, in the District of Columbia as ``Jimmy Lai Way'', and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONDEMNING THE ARBITARY DETENTION OF JIMMY LAI IN HONG KONG.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, a Hong Kong democracy advocate,
media entrepreneur, and a British citizen, has been in prison
since December 2020 on multiple fabricated charges, and is
serving a sentence of almost 6 years in prison under
politically motivated fraud charges, concurrently serving two
other sentences, one for joining a vigil to mark the 1989
Tiananmen Square Massacre, and another for participating in
peaceful protests in 2019.
(2) Jimmy Lai is held in solitary confinement for 23 hours
and 10 minutes each day, with only 50 minutes for restricted
exercise and limited human contact or access to daylight. He
suffers from diabetes and has experienced significant weight
loss and increasing frailty since being imprisoned. He was
denied access to independent medical care.
(3) The Apple Daily newspaper which Jimmy Lai founded and
published was forced by the authorities in Hong Kong to close
in June 2021, and the parent company Next Media was delisted
from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under government coercion in
January 2023, severely restricting the free flow of news and
information that undergirded Hong Kong role as a major
financial center.
(4) On August 10, 2020, Lai was charged with ``collusion
with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger
national security'' under Article 29 of the National Security
Law, charges levied in part because of meetings taken with
United States officials, including those during the first
Administration of President Donald J. Trump (2016-2020) and
supporting publicly the policies pursued at that time by the
Administration.
(5) Jimmy Lai's meetings with former United States
Government officials and public figures, including the Vice
President, Secretary of State, Speaker of the House of
Representatives, and Consul-General in Hong Kong have been
cited by the prosecution in the court proceedings.
(6) Lai trial under the National Security Law began in
December 2023 and is ongoing.
(7) A group of United Nations experts, being alarmed by
multiple and serious violations of Lai's rights, including the
right to a fair trial and access to a lawyer of his own
choosing, called for his immediate release.
(8) The minimum sentence required under the National
Security Law is 10 years imprisonment, and therefore it is
possible that Lai could spend the rest of his life behind bars.
(9) In 1997, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty
over Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China (PRC) with
guaranteed that fundamental rights are protected under both the
Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, which
enumerate specific rights and freedoms including those of
speech, of the press, and of assembly.
(10) The Government of the People's Republic of China has
repeatedly undermined Hong Kong's autonomy since, in particular
since the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, the mass
prodemocracy protests in 2019, and the imposition of the
draconian National Security Law in 2020.
(11) Since its enactment in June 2020, the National
Security Law, unilaterally passed by the National People's
Congress Standing Committee and enforced by officials in Hong
Kong as a pretext to repress legitimate and peaceful speech,
assembly, and expression of political opinions.
(12) Jimmy Lai stands for the values of democracy, human
rights, respect for the rule of law, religious freedom, freedom
of expression, and media freedom, and is prosecuted and
persecuted by the PRC's proxies in Hong Kong solely because of
his opinions and activities in pursuit of these values.
(b) Sense of Congress.--Congress--
(1) condemns the unjust imprisonment, mistreatment, and the
show trial of United Kingdom citizen Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong;
(2) calls upon the Hong Kong authorities to release Jimmy
Lai immediately and unconditionally and cease prosecuting him
and others charged under the National Security Law;
(3) reaffirms the importance of the freedom of speech and
the right of publishers, journalists, and media workers in Hong
Kong and around the world to operate free from intimidation,
harassment, repression, censorship, and fear;
(4) recognizes that the severe restrictions on the free
flow of news and information from Hong Kong impacts the ability
of individuals, corporations, and diplomats to make decisions
about travel, investments, and political conditions in Hong
Kong;
(5) urges the Secretary of State and other relevant
Department of State officials to advocate for the release of
Jimmy Lai by raising his case with officials of the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region and People's Republic of China;
(6) urges the Secretary of State to employ the financial
sanctions found in the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act
and the Hong Kong Autonomy Act for Hong Kong officials
complicit in the arrest and prosecution of Jimmy Lai and other
political prisoners in Hong Kong;
(7) urges the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights to hold a special session and appoint an impartial and
independent United Nations mechanism to evaluate, monitor, and
report on a range of human rights violations in the People's
Republic of China, including the impact of the National
Security Law on human rights in Hong Kong, as requested by over
United Nations Special Experts in 2020; and
(8) urges the Government of the United Kingdom and all
governments that view extension of human rights, the rule of
law, and an end to censorship as critical aspect of their
national and economic security to call for all charges against
Jimmy Lai to be dropped, the trial to end, and for the
immediate and unconditional release of Jimmy Lai.
SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF ``JIMMY LAI WAY'' IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
(a) Designation of Street Name.--
(1) In general.--The area between the intersections of 18th
Street Northwest and Church Street Northwest, and 18th Street
Northwest and P Street Northwest in the District of Columbia
shall be known and designated as ``Jimmy Lai Way''.
(2) Reference.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
area referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to include
``Jimmy Lai Way''.
(b) Designation of Address.--
(1) Designation.--The address of 1520 18th Street Northwest
in the District of Columbia shall be redesignated as 1 Jimmy
Lai Way Northwest.
(2) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
address referred to in paragraph (1) shall be deemed to be a
reference to 1 Jimmy Lai Way Northwest.
(c) Signs.--The Administrator of General Services shall construct
street signs that shall--
(1) contain the phrase ``Jimmy Lai Way NW'';
(2) be similar in design to the signs used by the District
of Columbia to designate the location of Metro stations; and
(3) be placed on--
(A) the parcel of Federal property that is closest
to 1 Jimmy Lai Way Northwest (as redesignated by
subsection (b)(1)) in the District of Columbia; and
(B) the street corners of 18th Street Northwest and
Church Street Northwest, and 18th Street Northwest and
P Street Northwest, in the District of Columbia.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MAIL DELIVERY BY THE UNITED STATES
POSTAL SERVICE TO 1 JIMMY LAI WAY.
It is the sense of Congress that the Postmaster General should
recognize any mail which is addressed to the Hong Kong Economic and
Trade Office at ``1 Jimmy Lai Way'' in San Francisco, California, or
New York, New York, with the appropriate postal codes, and should
deliver such mail to--
(1) 130 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94104;
or
(2) 115 East 54th Street, New York, New York 10022, as the
case may be.
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