Human Rights groups call on the US Congress to do all it can to secure the release of publisher Jimmy Lai from detention in China.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) calls on the United States Congress to use “all available diplomatic means and opportunities” to secure Jimmy Lai’s freedom ahead of a meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping on September 24. The CPJ has joined 29 other human rights organisations in a joint letter addressed to the Chinese President urging him to release political prisoners, including Lai, and repeal legislation in breach of international human rights.
Jimmy Lai is a Hong Kong publisher who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on spurious espionage charges under the 2020 National Security Law. This law was implemented to crack down on pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong. Its passing has caused a dramatic decline in press freedom in the region, with media outlets shutting down and journalists threatened, arrested, and imprisoned. Under Xi’s leadership, the CCP continues to tighten its grip on privately owned media while state-owned broadcast news and newspapers spread regime propaganda at home and abroad.
In September 2025, Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, addressed the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on behalf of PEN International to reiterate the Working Group’s Opinion: Jimmy Lai must be released immediately and unconditionally.
The RSF describes the People’s Republic of China as “the world’s largest prison for journalists, and its regime conducts a campaign of repression against journalism and the right to information worldwide”. Over 100 journalists remain in detention.
PEN Sydney supports all efforts to secure the release of imprisoned writers and dissidents in China. We also renew calls for the release of Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who was denied due process and handed a suspended death sentence in 2024.