Pressure to free imprisoned Hong Kong newspaperman Jimmy Lai continues to mount ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s planned mid-May summit in Beijing.
Members of the U.S. Congress, including some of Trump¡¯s closest allies, have introduced bipartisan resolutions calling on him to secure Lai¡¯s humanitarian release during his trip to Beijing. The Senate resolution is led by Sens. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, and includes a diverse array of lawmakers from both parties. There is a similar resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that already has 30 co-sponsors.
Trump himself has repeatedly called for Lai¡¯s release. As far back as the 2024 presidential campaign he said it would be ¡°very easy¡± to free Lai. He challenged Chinese President Xi Jinping to end Lai¡¯s continuing captivity at the Busan summit last October. He¡¯s also instructed Cabinet officials to make Lai¡¯s release a priority in trade talks.
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