Hong Kong media: US-China clash point.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said in response to various questions from reporters about the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper: “I spoke to President Xi about this and asked him to consider releasing him. He’s not well, he’s an old man and he’s not well.”
“So, I made the request. We’ll see what happens,” Trump added, without specifying the time of the call.
A Hong Kong court on Monday found Jimmy Lai guilty of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious material under the National Security Law, and sentenced him to life in prison despite his deteriorating health. Hong Kong authorities also expressed “strong dissatisfaction and opposition” to statements and materials by American and other Western politicians and the press in the early hours of Tuesday.
“These biased statements and malicious accusations from foreign forces precisely demonstrate that the national security risks we face are real,” the local government in Hong Kong said. “The court has made its decision on this case in full accordance with the law and evidence, free from any interference and completely free from any political considerations.”
Trump met with Xi Jinping in South Korea in late October, where their discussions were mostly economic, and he and senior US officials refrained from making statements on politically sensitive issues such as civil rights and Taiwan.
But they decided to sentence Lai, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later called on China to release him from prison.
“The sentencing of Mr. Lai in the national security case demonstrates Beijing’s enforcement of laws to silence those who seek to protect freedom of expression and other fundamental rights,” Rubio said.
“Reports indicate that Jimmy Lai’s health has deteriorated sharply over the course of more than 1,800 days in prison. We urge the authorities to end this ordeal as soon as possible and release Mr Lai on humanitarian grounds,” he said.
The trial is being closely watched by other countries as the most significant test of judicial independence and media freedom in the former British colony since its handover to China in 1997. The High Court will hear arguments on January 12 for a reduction in the sentence for Lai, a British citizen. Lai, an outspoken critic of China’s ruling Communist Party, has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He was arrested in 2020 under the Hong Kong National Security Law, which Beijing imposed in June that year to crack down on anti-government protests in Hong Kong.