ARTICLE 19 joined the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation (CFHK Foundation) and more than 50 US and international organisations in urging President Donald Trump and key Congressional leaders to take immediate, concrete action following the guilty verdict against Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai. The two open letters, sent to President Trump and US Congressional leaders on 23 December and released to the public on 29 December, were drafted and coordinated by the CFHK, and warn that Jimmy Lai’s case represents a grave escalation in Beijing’s crackdown on press freedom and political dissent.
The groups call for the release of Lai, six of his former Apple Daily executives, and other political prisoners held in Hong Kong.
On 15 December, 2025, a panel of three national security judges found Lai guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. The 855-page judgment cites interactions with US political figures and officials — including contacts involving President Trump, members of his first administration, and members of Congress — as purported evidence of ‘collusion with foreign forces’. The verdict marks a decisive break with rule of law principles and fundamental protections for free expression and due process in Hong Kong. A mitigation hearing is scheduled to begin on 12 January 2026, after which the court will proceed to sentencing. Lai now faces the possibility of life imprisonment.
The coalition’s call for action is also driven by urgent humanitarian concerns. Lai, 78, has been detained for more than five years, much of it in solitary confinement. Press freedom and human rights organisations, along with Lai’s family, have repeatedly raised alarm about his deteriorating health, citing significant weight loss, untreated medical conditions, and harsh prison conditions. The coalition warns that time is running out.
In the letters, we outline a coordinated approach combining immediate executive and congressional action:
- Making Lai’s release and meaningful steps to free political prisoners a central element for any high‑level engagement or potential presidential visit to Beijing in 2026, treating progress on human rights as integral to a stable, predictable environment for US economic interests in the region.
- Targeted sanctions on the three national security judges in Lai’s trial — Esther Toh Lye-ping, Alex Lee Wan-tang, and Susana D’Almada Remedios — as well as prosecutors and Hong Kong and Chinese officials responsible for this political prosecution, using both executive authority and Congressional push to pass the Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act (H.R. 733 / S. 1755).
- Reassessment of the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in the United States, including a Congressional push to pass the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices Certification Act (H.R. 2661) and an administrative review that can be done without Congressional action.