Hong Kong democracy tycoons son warns time running out [Video]

US lawmakers on Wednesday vowed to keep up pressure to free Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, whose son warned that time was running out.

Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered popular Chinese-language tabloid Apple Daily which supported mass pro-democracy protests, was detained in 2020 and is standing trial on charges including sedition and colluding with foreign forces.

At a press event held by the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, his son said Lai, 76, was struggling in solitary confinement inside a cell that is 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).

“Make no mistake — they are killing him because of his commitment to democracy,” Sebastian Lai said.

“My dad is also someone who is living out the duty of the free — the duty to fight and protect freedom whenever and wherever it is being threatened,” he said.

“I call on those who understand the same duty to act …