Trump pressed China’s Xi to release jailed HK media tycoon Jimmy Lai, say sources
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US President Donald Trump (left) spent less than five minutes discussing the issue of Jimmy Lai with Chinese President Xi Jinping (right), sources say.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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HONG KONG/WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump appealed directly to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to free jailed Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai when the two leaders met in South Korea last week, according to three people briefed on the talks and a US administration official.
Mr Trump did not discuss a specific deal to free Lai but spoke more broadly about concerns surrounding the 77-year-old publishing mogul’s health and well-being after his lengthy trial on national security charges, one of the people said.
The US leader spent less than five minutes discussing the issue, the person added.
“President Trump brought up Jimmy Lai’s case, just as he said he would,” the administration official said.
“Both President Trump and President Xi engaged in the discussion that followed.”
A third person said, on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the leaders’ meeting: “It was raised by Trump and noted by Xi.”
That person added that Mr Trump suggested that Lai’s release would be good for US-China relations and beneficial for China’s image.
Mr Trump’s direct intervention comes as Lai awaits a verdict after a trial widely seen as a symbol of China’s crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub under a national security law imposed after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Lai, who founded the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.
Mr Trump said ahead of the talks that he planned to raise Lai’s case, but neither he nor both sides’ read-outs mentioned it afterwards.
The White House declined to comment on questions about Lai being discussed during the Trump-Xi meeting. It has not confirmed that Mr Trump broached the issue.
Mr Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s Embassy in Washington, said he was not aware of details specific to Lai from the leaders’ meeting, but stressed that Lai’s “crimes have gravely undermined Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability”.
“Any attempt to interfere with the judicial process or to undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong will not succeed,” he said.
Though Lai is a British citizen, his case has been a source of friction between Washington and Beijing, with Mr Trump having said in 2024 during his campaign for the presidency that he would “100 per cent” get Lai out of China.
Lai’s son Sebastien Lai praised Mr Trump last week and said he was “incredibly grateful” following earlier unconfirmed reports that Mr Trump had raised his father’s case with Mr Xi.
“Knowing President Trump’s reputation as the liberator in chief, I pray that his continued support and commitment will convince President Xi to free my father before it is too late,” Mr Sebastien Lai said in a statement.
Mr Trump hailed the trade-dominated talks with Mr Xi as a success, pointing also to progress on rare earth shipments and promises of “strong action” on the export of chemicals used to produce the highly addictive fentanyl drug. He said tensions over Taiwan never came up in the 90-minute talks in South Korea.
Lai has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,700 days according to his family and rights groups and is now being held in the maximum security Stanley Prison as he awaits a verdict and sentencing after his trial ended in late August.
He is suffering from heart palpitations and has been provided with a heart monitor and medication, his lawyers said in court. REUTERS
