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US President Donald Trump appealed directly to China‘S Xi Jinping To free the people in jail hong kong media tycoon jimmy brought When the two leaders met In south korea Last week, four people were informed of the talks.
Trump did not discuss Exclusive deal to free lye But according to one of the sources, there have been more widely talked about concerns over the health and well-being of the 77-year-old publishing mogul following his lengthy trial on national security charges.
The source said Trump spent less than five minutes discussing the issue.
“President Trump raised Jimmy Lai’s case, as he said he would,” an administration official said. “Both President Trump and President Xi joined the discussion that followed.”
“It was raised by Trump and Noted by Xi,” a third person said on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the leaders’ meeting. The person said Trump suggested Lai’s release would be good for U.S.-China relations and beneficial to China’s image.
Trump’s direct intervention comes Lai awaits verdict after trial widely seen as symbol of China’s crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub under a national security law imposed after massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Lai, who founded the now-defunct pro-democracy Apple Daily tabloid The newspaper has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.
The US President said ahead of the talks he had planned take up the matter of lye But neither he nor either side mentioned it in the readouts later.
The White House declined to comment on questions about Lai’s discussion during the Trump-Xi meeting. It has not been confirmed Trump raised this issue.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, said he did not have specific information about Lai at the leaders’ meeting, but he stressed that Lai’s “crimes have seriously undermined Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability”.
“Any attempts to interfere with the judicial process or undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong will not succeed,” Liu said. Although Lai is a British citizen, his case has been a source of tension between Washington and Beijing, with Trump saying during his campaign for the presidency last year that he would “100%” expel Lai from China.
Lai’s son, Sebastian Lai, praised Trump last week and said he was “incredibly grateful” after earlier unconfirmed reports that Trump had raised his father’s case with Xi.
“Knowing President Trump’s reputation as the liberator in chief, I pray that his continued support and commitment will convince President Xi to free my father before it is too late,” Sebastian Lai said in a statement.
Trump described trade-led talks with Xi as a success, also pointing to progress on rare earth shipments and promising “tough action” on exports of chemicals used to produce the highly addictive drug fentanyl. He said tensions over Taiwan never arose during the 90-minute talks in South Korea.
Lai has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,700 days, according to his family and rights groups, and is now being held in the maximum-security Stanley prison as he awaits judgment and sentencing after his trial ends at the end of August. His lawyers told the court that he was suffering from heart palpitations and had been provided with a heart monitor and medication.