2024 House Resolution 188

Whereas, Jimmy Lai is a longtime advocate for freedom and democracy in Hong Kong. Although Mr. Lai has British citizenship, he chose to live in Hong Kong and pursue a career in media, founding the newspaper Apple Daily in 1995, just a few years after the Tiananmen Square protests and shortly before Hong Kong was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. Apple Daily became a well-known, successful publication, investigating local corruption and speaking out against overreach by the Chinese Communist Party. In 2019, when Hong Kong was swept by a wave of pro-democracy, anti-government protests, Apple Daily was a strong and outspoken supporter of the movement, printing posters for the demonstrators. Mr. Lai established himself as a high-profile, staunch supporter of the rights promised to Hong Kong under the terms of the Sino-British Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong in 1984; and

Whereas, In 2020, the Chinese government retaliated against Mr. Lai and Apple Daily, arresting Mr. Lai and charging him with collusion with a foreign country, a crime established by a new national security law that China unilaterally imposed on Hong Kong. Having been delayed multiple times, Mr. Lai’s trial under the national security law is currently set for December 2023, and he could face a life sentence if convicted. In 2021, Apple Daily was forced to close after the Chinese government raided the newsroom, seized the company’s computers, froze its assets, and arrested multiple company executives and a journalist. While awaiting trial under the national security law, Mr. Lai has also been convicted of fraud for violating the terms of a lease, on charges the United States Department of State called “spurious,” for which he was sentenced to five years and nine months’ imprisonment; charged with conspiracy to print seditious publications; and convicted for two instances of “unauthorized assembly” for his participation in a pro-democracy rally in 2019 and a Tiananmen Square vigil in 2020, for which he was sentenced to over two years in prison; and

Whereas, It is unacceptable for the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to weaponize their national security law for purposes of political repression, as they have done in the case of Mr. Lai. The United States and the United Nations Human Rights Committee have expressed deep concern about the national security law and its implementation, and the European Parliament recently adopted a resolution urging the release of Mr. Lai and other pro-democracy activists who were imprisoned for exercising the freedom of speech and expression. Democracies around the world are recognizing the blatant disregard and disrespect for fundamental human freedoms in Hong Kong in recent years; and

Whereas, China’s 2020 national security law and its utilization for political purposes pose a threat to free speech around the globe, including in Michigan. The national security law purports to apply to violations committed outside of Hong Kong by non-residents, a feature the United Nations Human Rights Committee has noted with grave concern. Michiganders should not have to fear being treated like Mr. Lai if they exercise their rights under the United States Constitution to engage in political speech; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we call for the immediate release of Jimmy Lai from imprisonment; and be it further

Resolved, That we urge the United States government to assert diplomatic pressure on the governments of the People’s Republic of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to help secure Mr. Lai’s release; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the United States Secretary of State and the United States Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China.