Despite the failure to secure an agreement on Jimmy Lai’s freedom, his daughter, Claire Lai, said her family remains ‘so grateful to President Trump and his administration’ for their support.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Jimmy Lai’s case is a “tough one” for Chinese President Xi Jinping, following a meeting between the two leaders in which the subject was broached.
Trump traveled to Beijing this week to meet with Xi Jinping about numerous topics, including the potential release of multiple political prisoners.
Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Trump confirmed that the leaders spoke about Jimmy Lai, the founder and publisher of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily who was sentenced to 20 years in prison over what Chinese officials claim were national security violations.
“I donʼt want to mislead anybody,” Trump said. Xi Jinping “said Jimmy Lai is a tough one for him to do.”
“They went through a lot and right or wrong, they went through a lot, so he told me that would be a tough one,” Trump said.
“I think heʼs giving very serious consideration to the pastor,” he said, referring to Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri — a Christian pastor detained by the Chinese Communist Party
