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.

Bill: 118-hr-8125
Sponsor: full_name: Rep. Smith, Christopher H. [R-NJ-4]
Introduced: 2024-04-23
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
Latest action: action_date: 2024-04-23
text: Referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, 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.

Summaries:

tv_txt: I 118th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8125 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 23, 2024 Mr. Smith of New Jersey (for himself and Mr. Suozzi ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Accountability , 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.

1. Condemning the jailing of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) In 1997, the United Kingdom transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) with guarantees that fundamental rights are protected under both the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law, which enumerate specific rights and freedoms including those of speech, of the press, and of assembly. (2) The Government of the People’s Republic of China has repeatedly undermined Hong Kong’s autonomy since the 1997 handover, and in particular since the Umbrella Movement protests in 2014, the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, and the imposition of the draconian National Security Law in 2020, which is vaguely defined and broadly applied to punish people for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms. (3) 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. (4) Jimmy Lai, a 76-year-old Hong Kong democracy advocate, media entrepreneur, and a British citizen, has been in prison since December 2020 on multiple fabricated charges, and is currently serving a sentence of almost six years in prison under politically motivated fraud charges, having already served two other sentences, one for joining a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, and another for participating in peaceful protests in 2019. (5) The Apple Daily newspaper which Jimmy Lai founded and published was forced by the authorities in Hong Kong to close in June 2021, and his Next Media company was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under government coercion in January 2023. (6) The trial of Jimmy Lai on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under the National Security Law and conspiracy to publish seditious publications under the sedition law began on December 18, 2023, and resumed on January 2, 2024. (7) Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges. (8) The minimum sentence required under the National Security Law is 10 years imprisonment, and therefore it is possible that he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. (9) A group of United Nations experts, being alarmed by multiple and serious violations of his rights, including the right to a fair trial and access to a lawyer of his own choosing, called for Jimmy Lai’s immediate release. (10) Jimmy Lai’s meetings with United States Government officials and public figures, including the former Vice President and Secretary of State, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the former Consul-General in Hong Kong, as well as others, have been cited by the prosecution in the court proceedings. (11) 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 and the show trial of Jimmy Lai; (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 media freedom 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 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 50 United Nations Special Experts in 2020; and (7) urges all governments that value democracy, human rights, and the rule of law 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. 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. 3. Sense of Congress regarding mail delivery by the United States Postal Service 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.