A top congressional panel on Wednesday examined the imprisonment of Chinese media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai and the state of press freedom and judicial independence in China.
The Congressional-Executive Commission on China held a hearing titled 'A Son and Daughter’s Appeal to Xi Jinping to Release Their Dad, Jimmy Lai' one week before Xi Jinping's visit to the United States.
Sebastien Lai, the son of the imprisoned media entrepreneur, testified and called for the immediate release of the 78-year-old democracy activist. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., said Jimmy Lai was sentenced to prison after founding a non-state-sponsored newspaper and 'believing in the almighty.'
Sebastien Lai said his father 'poses no threat' and called his imprisonment 'a symbol of injustice.' He added that 'his death in prison would be a disgrace.' He also said his sister, Claire Lai, was supposed to testify but was diagnosed with cancer earlier this month and is undergoing chemotherapy in London.
Steve Yates, senior research fellow for China and national security at The Heritage Foundation, also testified. Yates said the case is 'no longer principally an appeal to law, foreign or domestic,' and called it 'a litmus test' for whether there is any future in Xi Jinping's China for people like Jimmy Lai.
Why it matters: The hearing turns Lai's case into a test of China's power, its courts, and its treatment of dissent. It also lands just before Xi's U.S. visit.
The bottom line: Congress is using one man's imprisonment to spotlight a bigger fight over freedom of the press and judicial independence in China. For Washington, that is not a side issue. It is part of the geopolitical price of dealing with Beijing.