US EditionTrump urges Xi to free Hong Kong's Jimmy Lai
Trump urged Chinese leader Xi Jinping to consider releasing 78-year-old Jimmy Lai, convicted under Hong Kong's national security law, amid concerns over his health and press freedom, U.S. officials said.
- On Dec. 15, President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House he asked CCP leader Xi Jinping to consider releasing Jimmy Lai, saying `I feel so badly`.
- Hong Kong's High Court found Lai guilty on three national security charges after a 152-day jury-less trial, where prosecutors accused him of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious material and Lai testified for 52 days.
- Jimmy Lai, 78 and diabetic, has spent over 1,800 days in detention since late 2020, with family members reporting his health has rapidly declined in custody.
- The UK summoned China's ambassador and condemned the conviction, calling for Lai's immediate release, while U.S. officials including Marco Rubio urged release on humanitarian grounds and denounced suppression of dissent.
- Next month, Hong Kong authorities will hold a mitigation hearing for Jimmy Lai on Jan. 12, 2026, with sentencing and a possible appeal decision by Robert Pang to follow, raising media freedom concerns.
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Jimmy Lai's Family Looks to Trump, World Leaders
Family members and friends of Jimmy Lai, a businessman and a pro-democracy newspaper owner in Hong Kong, are holding out hope that he can still be released after his guilty verdict on national security and sedition charges, if President Trump and other world leaders put pressure on Xi Jinping to free him.
"I'm very sorry. I talked to President Xi about it and asked him to consider his release," Donald Trump revealed. "He's an old man and he's not well-healthed. So I did this."
US President Trump has campaigned for the release of Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai.
The publisher Jimmy Lai was one of the main figures of the Hong Kong democracy movement; after a conviction, he is threatened with life imprisonment. The US President is now asking China's head of state and party.
Trump Asked the Chinese President to Release Convicted Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Media Mogul Jimmy Lai
Donald Trump wants Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai, a Hong Kong newspaper publisher and pro-democracy activist who was found guilty of violating China's national security law on Monday, the Guardian reports. "I'm very sorry. I spoke to President Xi about this and asked him to reconsider releasing him. He's an old man and he's not in good health. That's why I asked for it. We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters on Monday.…
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