H.Res. 930

119 HRES 930 IH: Commemorating the 78th birthday of Jimmy Lai on December 8, 2025, as “Jimmy Lai Day”, for his role in advocating for free press, religious freedom, and democracy in Hong Kong, and calling on the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong authorities to release Jimmy Lai and all other Hong Kong prodemocracy advocates from prison.
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2025-12-04
 text/xml
 EN
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 IV  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  H. RES. 930  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   December 4, 2025   Mr. Moolenaar  (for himself,  Mr. Krishnamoorthi ,  Mrs. Kim ,  Mr. Carson ,  Mr. Smith of New Jersey ,  Mr. McGovern ,  Mr. Wittman ,  Mr. Moulton ,  Mr. McCaul ,  Mr. Stanton ,  Mr. Miller of Ohio , and  Mr. Suozzi ) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the  Committee on Foreign Affairs    RESOLUTION
Commemorating the 78th birthday of Jimmy Lai on December 8, 2025, as  Jimmy Lai Day , for his role in advocating for free press, religious freedom, and democracy in Hong Kong, and calling on the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong authorities to release Jimmy Lai and all other Hong Kong prodemocracy advocates from prison.
Whereas Lai Chee-ying (Jimmy Lai) was born on December 8, 1947, in Guangzhou;
Whereas, at the age of 12, Lai entered the territory of Hong Kong in 1959 as a stowaway on a boat, beginning work as a child laborer in a garment factory;
Whereas, in 1981, Lai founded Giordano, a clothing retailer that operated thousands of stores in over 30 countries;
Whereas, in 1989, the Tiananmen Square massacre and related protests inspired Lai to support Hong Kong’s prodemocracy movement;
Whereas, in 1995, Lai founded the newspaper Apple Daily, with the inspiration to maintain freedom of speech in Hong Kong following the then-forthcoming handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China in 1997;
Whereas, on December 13, 2014, Lai was arrested for his role as a prodemocracy leader during Hong Kong’s 2014 Umbrella Movement;
Whereas, on January 15, 2015, Lai’s home and media facilities were attacked with incendiary devices, with the crimes being reported as an  attack on press freedom ;
Whereas, on February 28, 2020, Lai was arrested for illegal assembly during a prodemocracy protest;
Whereas, on April 18, 2020, Lai was arrested for participating in a peaceful march from Causeway Bay to Charter Road in Central in August 2019 and in a National Day protest in October 2019;
Whereas, on August 10, 2020, Lai was arrested for  fraud  and  collusion with foreign forces  under the Chinese Communist Party-directed Hong Kong National Security Law over his advocacy for Hong Kong democracy alongside United States Government officials;
Whereas, that same day, over 200 Hong Kong police officers raided the offices of Apple Daily and arrested 7 senior executives of the media company for  collusion with foreign forces  under the National Security Law, along with Lai’s two sons;
Whereas, on December 3, 2020, Lai’s bail was revoked, and Lai was arrested on spurious grounds for  fraud ;
Whereas, on December 23, 2020, Lai was granted bail and placed under house arrest;
Whereas, on December 31, 2020, Lai’s bail was revoked, and Lai was ordered back to prison, beginning his yearslong detention;
Whereas, on April 16, 2021, Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison for  unlawful assembly  during the 2019 protests;
Whereas, on December 13, 2021, Lai was sentenced to an additional 13 months in prison for  inciting  others to attend a Tiananmen Square memorial candlelight vigil in 2020;
Whereas, on December 10, 2022, Lai was sentenced to 69 months in jail over fraud;
Whereas, following the handover of Hong Kong and its establishment as a Special Administrative Region, it was guaranteed rights and liberties, a  capitalist system and way of life , and a  high degree of autonomy  until 2047;
Whereas the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments in the ensuing decades have failed to deliver genuine universal suffrage in the election of Hong Kong’s Chief Executive as guaranteed under Hong Kong Basic Law and eroded Hong Kong’s autonomy by suppressing the freedoms of speech, religion, press, and assembly;
Whereas Hong Kong’s autonomy from the People’s Republic of China has been exceedingly dismantled, and its once-independent political and legal institutions now operate under tight control from Beijing with decisions increasingly directed by the central government that prioritize Chinese Communist Party concerns over the rule of law;
Whereas Hong Kong Special Administrative Region authorities have jailed nearly 2,000 political prisoners for defending freedom and democracy since the outbreak of the 2019 prodemocracy movement;
Whereas the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governments have systematically subjected Lai and other political prisoners in Hong Kong to prolonged solitary confinement, forced political indoctrination and psychiatric detention, physical and sexual abuse, and medical neglect, all of which constitute grave violations of international human rights standards and the fundamental dignity of individuals; and
Whereas systematic abuse in Hong Kong’s prison system has severely impacted the health of Jimmy Lai, who suffers from diabetes and is in poor health: Now, therefore, be it
That the House of Representatives—
(1)
supports the recognition of  Jimmy Lai Day ;
(2)
applauds Jimmy Lai and affirms its support for his courageous leadership in advocating for free press, religious freedom, and democracy in Hong Kong;
(3)
condemns Chinese Communist Party and Hong Kong authorities for dismantling the freedoms, autonomy, and rule of law that were promised under international agreements and continuing to silence dissent, undermine judicial independence, and violate the rights of Hong Kong’s people; and
(4)
calls upon Chinese Communist Party and Hong Kong authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Jimmy Lai and all other Hong Kong prodemocracy advocates unjustly imprisoned for exercising their right to free expression.