The political show trial of now underway in Hong Kong will almost certainly end in his conviction and a lengthy or even life sentence. Congress should honor his heroism in defending cherished principles of freedom by renaming the street connected to the People鈥檚 Republic of China Embassy in Washington as 鈥淛immy Lai Way.鈥�
Lai鈥檚 trial, now entering its second month, is emblematic of the Chinese Communist Party鈥檚 five-year campaign to repress a city famous for its vibrant democratic and free market systems. It also reveals Lai鈥檚 extraordinary character. The pro-democracy publisher and self-made retail billionaire knowingly sacrificed his personal freedom and vast fortune in deciding to stay in his homeland to oppose the party鈥檚 consolidation of control. 鈥淚f I go away,鈥� he , 鈥淚 give up what I believe in.鈥�
When this judicial farce ends, Lai will rank among the greatest freedom proponents of our time. He will become the face of the Chinese Communist Party鈥檚 legions of political prisoners 鈥� . A civic movement of rights activists, free market advocates, editors, journalists and Catholic bishops have recognized Lai鈥檚 courage. American legislators should honor Lai, too.
Several foreign embassies in Washington have seen adjacent spaces renamed for their oppressed dissidents. When Congress first acted in 1984 to by renaming the 16th Street site of the Soviet Embassy, the State Department objected that it could offend the embassy鈥檚 dignity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, and the District Council of Washington said that it could only rename a street to honor a person who had been dead for two years. Congress prevailed and the address became Andrei Sakharov Plaza.
Another plaza, at the newer Russian Embassy on Wisconsin Avenue, was designated in 2018 for the Boris Nemtsov. The District Council decided in 2022 to name a street fronting the Saudi Embassy as 鈥淛amal Khashoggi Way,鈥� for the murdered Washington Post columnist. Last year, Congress passed a bill to designate a stretch outside the Cuban Embassy as 鈥淥swaldo Pay谩 Way鈥� in honor of the .
No Washington streets have been renamed for heroes from mainland China or Hong Kong. Two past attempts failed: In 2016, the Senate unanimously passed a bill to rename the Chinese Embassy鈥檚 International Drive address to honor imprisoned Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo, but, after Beijing threatened 鈥渟erious consequences,鈥� advisers to then-President Obama recommended a veto because it would not help gain his release, and the House dropped the bill. Liu was paroled the following year and died two weeks later of cancer. And in 2020, Republican legislators introduced a bill that wasn鈥檛 acted on to name the same stretch of International Drive 鈥淟i Wenliang Way鈥� for the who first warned of COVID-19鈥檚 spread and was silenced, before succumbing to COVID-19 himself.
Lai is accused of being the 鈥渕astermind鈥� of a conspiracy to destabilize Hong Kong by his support of democracy and the anti-Communist criticism in his now defunct Apple Daily newspaper. He is being tried by a panel of hand-picked judges for publishing seditious materials and 鈥渃olluding with foreign forces,鈥� under the sweeping National Security Law (NSL) of 2020. This Chinese Communist Party-imposed law is vague in defining 鈥渃ollusion,鈥� making it easy to put away dissenters like Lai.
The 76-year-old Lai has pleaded not guilty and his lawyers are expected to present a strong defense in coming weeks. But the court has a 100 percent conviction rate. Hong Kong鈥檚 rule of law has been replaced by whatever the party decrees and the judicial system is rigged. Part of the evidence on collusion are Lai鈥檚 meetings 鈥� a year before the NSL became law 鈥� with prominent American officials, such as Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Then there鈥檚 the matter of key prosecution witness Andy Li. Arrested as a pro-democracy activist in 2020, Li was reportedly heard 鈥渃onsistently鈥� screaming in his jail cell. A confirmed he was 鈥渕istreated,鈥� casting doubt on his testimony鈥檚 reliability. Li was convicted and is confined to a psychiatric center, where he awaits sentencing 鈥� a sword of Damocles hanging over him when he takes the stand against Lai.
In the (registered with the United Nations), China agreed to respect Hong Kong鈥檚 separate system for 50 years after its 1997 hand-over by Britain. Freedom of speech, the press and assembly were indisputably the norms of Hong Kong鈥檚 political culture. Under this agreement, Lai鈥檚 support for democracy and freedom were legal; it is Beijing鈥檚 oppression that is illegitimate and destabilizing.
For the past three years, Lai, a Catholic convert, has spent his days behind bars in Stanley Prison bearing his cross in silent meditation, making pencil drawings of Jesus鈥檚 crucifixion for well-wishers. The libertarian Cato Institute, which awarded him its last year, noted that Lai 鈥渕akes no secret that his faith is central to his struggle.鈥�
Congress should act to honor Lai in a way that would be a visible reminder of his heroism and of America鈥檚 solidarity with Hong Kong. It should redesignate the street facing Beijing鈥檚 prominent embassy building on Kalorama Circle as 鈥淛immy Lai Way.鈥�