‘Jimmy Lai Way’: US call to honour jailed tycoon in DC address of Hong Kong trade office

A bipartisan group of US House members has launched a fresh campaign to rename the address of Hong Kong’s trade office in Washington in honour of jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, a day after the US State Department sanctioned six officials in the city for “undermining Hong Kong’s autonomy”.

Under a new bill introduced on Tuesday, the official address of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (HKETO) in Washington’s Dupont Circle neighbourhood would be changed from 1520 18th Street Northwest to 1 Jimmy Lai Way Northwest.

“By renaming the street in honour of Jimmy Lai, we show respect for this champion of democracy and human rights and all those detained in Hong Kong for exercising rights guaranteed them by international law and treaty,” said Republican Chris Smith of New Jersey, the bill’s sponsor.

“We want to remind every HKETO employee of their part in dismantling the freedoms that once made Hong Kong the most vibrant and prosperous city in Asia,” added Smith, co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

The bill is co-sponsored by New York Democrat Tom Suozzi and the leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Republican John Moolenaar of Michigan and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.