After his two-day meeting in China this week, President Donald Trump said May 15 that Chinese leader Xi Jinping responded negatively when he raised the potential release of Jimmy Lai, the Catholic, pro-democracy advocate a Hong Kong court recently sentenced to 20 years in prison.
According to Reuters, Trump told journalists aboard Air Force One during his return flight to the U.S. that Xi was “giving very serious consideration” to releasing Zion Church founder Pastor Jin Mingri but indicated Lai’s case would be “a tough one.”
“He told me that would be a tough one,” Trump said.
In an interview with FOX News Channel’s “Special Report,” the President added that Xi’s response to the request “was not positive.”
Trump said that Xi “went through a whole thing and I said, ‘Well, we'd appreciate if you would release him. He's gotten old, and he's probably not feeling too well. It would be nice.’ And I did not feel optimistic. I have to be honest with you about that one,” according to Reuters.
Lai’s case has drawn international attention since his 2020 arrest. As Zeale News previously reported, more than 100 bipartisan lawmakers signed a May 7 letter urging Trump to press Xi on releasing Lai during the summit in China.
“Given Jimmy Lai’s advanced age and ailing health, we urge President Trump — a tenacious, vocal advocate for Jimmy’s freedom — to again raise Jimmy’s case and call for his humanitarian release,” the lawmakers wrote.
Lai’s family has repeatedly warned of the 78-year-old’s declining health and the poor prison conditions while campaigning internationally for his release.
The lawmakers wrote that Lai’s release would mark “a clear, practical path forward that reunites a family and prevents this case from becoming an irreversible tragedy — and an enduring symbol of repression that will echo far beyond Hong Kong.”