Sebastian Lai, the son of Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai, called for his father’s release during a hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China in Washington on September 16. The appeal came ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled visit to the US capital later this month.

Sebastian Lai urged President Xi to reconsider his father’s imprisonment, stating that Jimmy Lai poses no threat and that his continued detention symbolizes injustice. “His death in prison would be a disgrace,” Sebastian said, adding, “Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family.” The 78-year-old Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison after being convicted of foreign collusion and seditious publication. This sentence is the harshest imposed so far under the national security law Beijing enacted in Hong Kong following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. The law has drawn international criticism for its impact on Hong Kong’s freedoms.

On the same day, another event in Washington featured activists and religious leaders advocating for the release of individuals detained in China, with calls for Beijing to uphold freedom of religion. Several family members of detainees shared their hopes for progress following past cases where US-China negotiations led to releases.

President Xi is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on September 24. In May, Trump acknowledged having discussed Lai’s case with Xi but expressed skepticism that the media mogul’s release was likely, describing it as “a tough one for him to do.” However, Trump pointed to the earlier release of Ezra Jin, founder of an underground church, after he raised Jin’s case with Xi.

Family members of other detained individuals, including Ziba Murat, daughter of retired Uighur physician Gulshan Abbas, expressed cautious optimism during the Washington events. Abbas has been imprisoned for nearly eight years on charges of terrorism. “This is bigger than my family,” Murat said, highlighting the broader implications of the issue beyond individual cases.