US President Donald Trump vowed on Thursday to do “everything I can” to help imprisoned Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai, even if Chinese President Xi Jinping “wouldn’t be thrilled.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to save him,” Trump told Fox News Radio in an interview. “We’ll see what we can do … we’re going to do everything we can.”
Trump has said he would raise Lai’s case as part of negotiations with China over trade and tariffs.
Lai, 77, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to charges under Hong Kong’s national security law, including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and conspiracy to publish seditious material. He has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,500 days since December 2020.
Beijing has described Lai as a dangerous political agitator. Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, accused him of being “a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong,” adding, “We strongly oppose external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law.”
The US and China extended their tariff truce for another 90 days on Monday, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said officials from both sides would meet again in the coming months to discuss the future of the economic relationship.
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With inputs from Reuters
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