WASHINGTON, D.C. — As President Donald Trump prepares for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing, bipartisan pressure is mounting for the administration to prioritize human rights and the release of political prisoners held by the Chinese Communist regime.
Leading that effort is New Jersey’s Congressman Chris Smith (R, NJ-04), co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Smith revealed this week that more than 100 lawmakers have backed a letter urging Trump to demand the release of imprisoned Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai during talks with Beijing.
Speaking on LiveNOW from FOX and EWTN News Nightly ahead of the summit, Smith praised Trump for continuing to raise Lai’s case and said there is overwhelming bipartisan support behind the effort.
“There is solidarity—it’s bipartisan in the House and the Senate—backing the President’s request to release Jimmy Lai on humanitarian grounds,” Smith said.
Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has been imprisoned since 2020 under Hong Kong’s controversial national security law. International human rights advocates have warned that Lai’s health has deteriorated significantly while in custody.
Smith said the situation is becoming increasingly urgent, citing Lai’s age, medical conditions, and reportedly harsh prison treatment. He urged Trump to continue pressing for Lai’s immediate humanitarian release during negotiations with Xi.
The New Jersey congressman also highlighted the plight of other prisoners detained by the Chinese government, including Christian pastor Pastor Ezra Jin, whose case has drawn concern from religious freedom advocates.
Smith has long been one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of the Chinese Communist Party’s human rights abuses, particularly its treatment of political dissidents, religious minorities, and pro-democracy activists.
The renewed congressional push comes as Trump seeks to balance ongoing economic and geopolitical tensions with China while also projecting a tougher stance on human rights issues that many lawmakers say previous administrations failed to adequately confront.
For supporters of Lai and other political prisoners, the upcoming summit represents a critical opportunity for the United States to apply direct pressure on Beijing at the highest level.
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