World News
Trump May Advocate for Jailed Publisher in China
Clear Facts
- Jimmy Lai, a British citizen and pro-democracy publisher, was sentenced to 20 years in a Chinese prison.
- President Trump is expected to visit Beijing this April and may press Chinese President Xi Jinping for Lai’s release.
- Lai’s family and American officials have publicly called for his freedom, citing his declining health and unjust sentencing.
President Trump has a rare opportunity on his upcoming trip to China to advocate for the release of Jimmy Lai, the imprisoned pro-democracy publisher.
Lai is 78 years old and in poor health, making his 20-year prison sentence effectively a life sentence under the harsh policies of the Chinese Communist Party.
Lai’s daughter, Claire, describes her father as a man of deep faith who finds solace in his Catholic beliefs while behind bars.
“From the very first day I went to visit him, I remember I was very emotional,” Claire said in an interview. “He’s in God’s good hands, and he’ll find ways to serve him from behind bars.”
Authorities in China claim Lai was the “mastermind and behind-the-scenes manipulator.”
Lai ran “Apple Daily” in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021 until its closure by Chinese authorities, who also detained key staff members.
After a lengthy trial, Lai was convicted on charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials, which his family and supporters argue are politically motivated.
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio condemned the Hong Kong High Court’s decision, calling the sentence “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case.”
Rubio urged officials to grant Lai humanitarian parole, saying that Lai and his family “have suffered enough.”
“It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, casting aside the international commitments Beijing made in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration,” Rubio said.
Claire and her brother, Sebastian, work tirelessly to campaign for their father’s freedom, despite facing risks from the Chinese government for their advocacy.
Her faith remains a source of strength. She, her mother, and her father are all devoted Catholics, and she finds comfort knowing her father is drawing strength from prayer even in prison.
Jimmy Lai’s letters from prison include words of encouragement and spiritual comfort.
“A few days later I got a letter from Dad,” Claire recalled. “In his letters, he sends me his prayers and he basically echoed what I was feeling in that moment…he was in our Lord’s good hands.”
President Trump has vowed to do all he can to fight for Lai’s release during his upcoming visit to Beijing.
Claire expressed her appreciation for American support: “We are extremely grateful to [Trump] and to his administration, [that has] a proven track record of freeing those [who] were unjustly detained abroad and doing so with a high degree of success. We are just hopeful that our father will be one of them.”
Americans who defend freedom and religious liberty will be watching with interest to see whether President Trump’s efforts can help secure justice for Jimmy Lai.
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