WASHINGTON: US lawmakers moved Tuesday (Apr 1) to rename the street next to Hong Kong’s Washington office after Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy media owner jailed as China clamps down in the financial hub.
A bill introduced in the House of Representatives would erect the street sign “Jimmy Lai Way” on a stretch alongside the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Washington’s bustling Dupont Circle area.
“We want to remind every HKETO employee of their part in dismantling the freedoms that once made Hong Kong the most vibrant and prosperous city in Asia,” said Representative Chris Smith, the Republican co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which examines rights in the country.
There was no immediate timetable to act upon the proposal, but it was co-sponsored by Democrats.
While Congress has less jurisdiction outside of Washington, the bill would also direct the US Postal Service to deliver mail to Hong Kong’s offices in New York and San Francisco if they are addressed to “1 Jimmy Lai Way” in either city.
Lai was the founder of the Apple Daily, a now-shuttered Chinese-language newspaper that championed mass demonstrations in 2019 aimed at safeguarding democratic liberties promised when Beijing took control of the former British colony.
China quelled dissent after the protests, some of which involved vandalism, including through a tough security law.
Lai, now 77, has been behind bars since December 2020.
