President Donald Trump said on Monday that he asked Chinese dictator Xi Jinping to free Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy Hong Kong media mogul who is awaiting sentencing after he was found guilty of “colluding with foreign forces” on Monday.
“I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump commented to reporters about Lai’s sentencing.
“He’s an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Trump did not specify when he made this request to Xi. Their last high-profile telephone conversation, which both leaders described as successful, was on November 24, but they have apparently had a few briefer and less formal communications since then. For example, Trump said last Monday that he had informed Xi about his decision to allow China to purchase advanced computer chips from Nvidia.
When Trump and Xi met face-to-face in South Korea in early November, Trump reportedly expressed concerns for Jimmy Lai’s health and asked Xi to set him free, suggesting it would be a positive step toward improving U.S.-China relations. According to sources familiar with the conversation, Xi “noted” Trump’s request, but did not respond to it further.
Lai, 78, is a famed democracy advocate and former owner of Hong Kong’s now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper. He has been jailed since December 2020, despite serious health issues.
On Monday, Lai was found guilty on charges of “colluding with foreign governments” under the tyrannical National Security Law (NSL) that China imposed on Hong Kong to crush the 2019 pro-democracy movement. The NSL criminalized all opposition to Beijing’s puppet government in Hong Kong, furnishing prosecutors with very flexible charges of “sedition” and “collusion” that could be deployed against any activist or dissident.
The judge who handed down the verdict on Monday, Esther Toh, said there was “no doubt” that Lai “harbored hatred” for the People’s Republic of China, as demonstrated by his “constant invitation to the U.S. to help bring down the government of the PRC with the excuse of helping the people of Hong Kong.”
Another charge Lai was found guilty of on Monday was using Apple Daily to publish “seditious material.” His lawyers said the judgment against him was so lengthy that they needed “some time to study it” before filing an appeal.
Lai’s family said they were unsurprised by the verdict, having been advised by their lawyers that the outcome was pre-determined.
“I feel like my uncle was made an example and that was always the case,” said his niece Erica Lepp, who lives in Canada. “I’m very sad. I feel sad for Hong Kong as a whole, and I know my family feels the same way.”
“In the 800-page verdict they have, there is essentially nothing, nothing that incriminates him,” Lai’s son Sebastien said from London. “This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn’t like.”
“This verdict proves that the authorities still fear our father, even in his weakened state, for what he represents. We stand by his innocence and condemn this miscarriage of justice,” Lai’s daughter Claire said in a written statement.
Numerous human rights groups and governments condemned the verdict, including the United Kingdom, which counts Lai as a citizen. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the “politically-motivated prosecution of Jimmy Lai,” who was “targeted” under the national security law that was “imposed on Hong Kong to silence China’s critics,” and demanded his immediate release.
Sebastien Lai asked the British government to go further and make Lai’s release a condition for the closer relations sought by China. He asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer and other top UK officials to make it clear to Beijing that “our values are not up for trade.” To date, Starmer has not commented on the Lai verdict.
“The clock is ticking. My father is 78. His health is rapidly deteriorating. He has been kept in solitary confinement for nearly five years in brutal conditions that few could survive. He has been left to swelter in a tiny concrete cell, his window covered to deny him access to fresh air and sunlight. He has diabetes and suffers from heart palpitations and fatigue — this sometimes kept him away from court during his trial,” Sebastien Lai wrote in an op-ed for the UK Independent on Tuesday.
Sebastien noted that Starmer is scheduled to meet with Xi Jinping in China next month, to discuss improved diplomatic ties. “Surely the unjust imprisonment of a British citizen is an obstacle to that goal, and my father should be released before any meaningful talks can take place. How can there be any trust otherwise?” he asked.