Krishnamoorthi, House Colleagues Introduce Bill to Rename DC Street after Hong Kong Champion of Freedom
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party (CCP), cosponsored reintroduction of the bipartisan “Jimmy Lai Way Act” (H.R. 2522) with a bipartisan group of House colleagues. The bill renames the street in front of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Washington, DC, as “1 Jimmy Lai Way” in honor of the jailed entrepreneur and democracy advocate. The HKETO is the representative office of the Hong Kong government in the nation’s capital.
Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered newspaper Apple Daily, is currently on trial, facing National Security Law charges in part because of his conversations with Members of Congress and Administration officials in 2019. He has been detained for over five years, mostly in isolation, and his family fears that a lack of medical attention, exercise, and access to sunlight has taken a toll on the health of the 77-year-old media tycoon.
Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), Co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China, reintroduced the bill. Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the Select Committee and Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Co-chair of the Congressional Uyghur Caucus, were also cosponsors of the bill.
“More than four years ago, Jimmy Lai, a champion of press freedom and democracy, was unjustly imprisoned by the Hong Kong authorities at the behest of their autocratic overseers, the Chinese Communist Party,” said Ranking Member Krishnamoorthi. “Renaming this intersection in the District of Columbia in Mr. Lai’s honor is a powerful symbol of our commitment to free speech and the rule of law and reminds the CCP that the world will hold them accountable for their continuing assault on human rights and individual liberty in Hong Kong and beyond.”
“Honoring Jimmy Lai is a powerful statement of our unwavering commitment to those who courageously stand up for freedom and democracy, despite the oppressive forces they face,” said Chairman Moolenaar. “Jimmy Lai’s fight against the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party embodies the resilient spirit of the people of Hong Kong, and this tribute sends a clear message: we will not forget their struggle, and we will not rest until all political prisoners are free.”
“By renaming the street in honor of Jimmy Lai, we show solidarity and offer our continued support for this champion of democracy and human rights and all those in Hong Kong arbitrarily detained simply for exercising rights the Chinese Communist Party guaranteed them in an international treaty,” said Rep. Smith. “Yesterday’s sanctions underscore that freedom for the people of Hong Kong is a priority for the Trump Administration. President Trump boldly promised to gain Jimmy Lai’s release raising the stakes for the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.”
“Naming a street in our nation’s capital after Jimmy Lai sends a clear message to the world: the United States stands in solidarity with freedom fighters who oppose authoritarianism and repression,” said Rep. Suozzi. “The Chinese Communist Party’s crimes against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, its erosion of democracy in Hong Kong, and its increasingly provocative posturing toward Taiwan must continue to be brought to the attention of the free world.”
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