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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US and UK will need to offer a sweet deal for Jimmy Lai
President Donald Trump may “feel badly” about the conviction of Jimmy Lai, but the Chinese Communist Party appears uninterested in adhering to his request to release the Hong Kong activist. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, asked to comment on Trump’s appeal on Monday for Lai’s release, told foreign reporters on Tuesday that the central government “supports the Hong Kong [special administrative region] in safeguarding national security and punishing…
"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.
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