Jimmy Lai was jailed for 20 years in February after being found guilty of national security charges for his support of anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019.ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump said he raised the case of jailed Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, but seemed less than optimistic of the 78-year-old’s chances of being released.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One hours after departing Beijing, following a two-day summit with Mr. Xi, Mr. Trump said China was “seriously considering” releasing Ezra Jin, a jailed Christian pastor, but that “Jimmy Lai is a tough one” for Mr. Xi.
Mr. Trump suggested as much before his trip to China, comparing the media executive to James Comey, saying if the former FBI director was jailed, it would be a “hard one for me” to release him.
“Jimmy Lai, you know, caused a lot of bedlam,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Lai was jailed for 20 years in February after being found guilty of national security charges for his support of anti-government protests that rocked Hong Kong in 2019. The following month, Mr. Lai waived his right to appeal as his family lobbies for him to receive compassionate release on health grounds.
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While British and Canadian politicians have called for China to show leniency to Mr. Lai, supporters have long felt his best bet lies with Mr. Trump. Mr. Lai’s friends in Washington, including many high-level members of the Republican Party, have urged the U.S. President to push for his release.
“President Trump has mentioned his commitment to freeing my father a number of times,” Mr. Lai’s daughter Claire told a U.S. broadcaster this week. “Of course I know it’s not an easy task, but I believe if anyone can do it, President Trump can.”
Speaking ahead of his departure for Beijing, Mr. Trump said Mr. Lai “tried to do the right thing, he wasn’t successful, went to jail, and people would like him out, and I’d like to see him get out, too, so I’ll bring him up again.”
Speaking to Fox News after Mr. Trump landed in Beijing, Mr. Lai’s son Sebastien praised the U.S. President as an “incredible negotiator” and said “the dream is to see him with my father on Air Force One.”
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There is some precedent for such actions: During a visit by then-secretary of state Hillary Clinton to China in 2012, activist Chen Guangcheng fled house arrest and sought asylum in the U.S. Embassy. Washington eventually negotiated for him to leave China.
Similarly, when asked about Mr. Lai’s case earlier this week, Mr. Trump touted his success in securing the release of various U.S. citizens detained around the world.
But when the presidential jet departed China Friday, it was without Mr. Lai.
Asked about the case at a regular press conference on Friday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing’s position was clear.
“Lai is the principal mastermind and perpetrator behind the series of riots that shook Hong Kong,” he said. “Hong Kong affairs are China’s internal affairs. The central government of China firmly supports the Hong Kong judicial authorities in performing duties in accordance with the law.”
With reports from Alexandra Li in Beijing