Reuters reported on Thursday that during a recent meeting in South Korea, President Donald Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free jailed Hong Kong media figure Jimmy Lai. This was shared by a source familiar with the discussions.
According to the report, Trump didn’t specify a concrete agreement for Lai’s release but expressed broader concerns for the 77-year-old’s health after a lengthy trial on national security charges.
A senior official from Trump’s team mentioned, “President Trump addressed the Jimmy Lai situation, and there was a follow-up conversation between him and President Xi.”
Trump suggested that releasing Lai, recognized worldwide as a political prisoner, could improve U.S.-China relations and enhance China’s image.
Sources indicated that the dialogue regarding Lai was brief, lasting under five minutes, and Xi did not provide a clear response. Official summaries from either nation did not reference Lai, and both declined to comment further when approached by Reuters.
Chinese Ambassador to the U.S. Liu Pengyu and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated that Lai is seen as a convicted criminal and that external parties should not interfere with Hong Kong’s judicial processes.
Liu stated that Lai’s actions severely impacted Hong Kong’s stability, while Mao accused him of inciting “anti-China riots.”
Jimmy Lai, a 77-year-old media entrepreneur, founded the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.
He has long been a vocal supporter of political and religious freedoms, which has drawn ire from Hong Kong’s increasingly authoritarian government backed by China.
In 2020, China breached its agreement with the U.K. by implementing a harsh national security law in Hong Kong, which effectively crushed pro-democracy movements that had surged since 2019.
This security law makes virtually any criticism of the Communist regime punishable, aiming squarely at perceived conspiracies involving foreign influence on the pro-democracy movement.
Lai was arrested in August 2020, accused of “colluding with foreign forces to jeopardize national security,” and sentenced to 14 months in prison for participating in the democracy movement.
Further trials resulted in longer sentences, including a controversial conviction of “unauthorized assembly” for attending a memorial rally for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.
In 2022, he received a five-year prison sentence and hefty fines for allegedly violating rental terms connected to Apple Daily‘s office, which shuttered in 2021 amid “foreign collusion” allegations.
Lai’s son, Sebastian, has urged the United Nations to intervene, highlighting his father’s solitary confinement despite his serious health issues like diabetes and heart illness.
The UN’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Lai’s rights were violated and called for his immediate release, yet China dismissed these findings and appeals.
Though Lai holds British citizenship, advocates for human rights and press freedoms argue that the U.K. government has limited ability to secure his freedom.
Sebastian Lai expressed gratitude to President Trump for his support, making comments shortly after the Trump-Xi meeting. He said, “I appreciate that the President highlighted my father’s situation. Given President Trump’s reputation as a champion for freedom, I hope that President Xi’s cooperation will lead to my father’s release before it’s too late.”
