Trump urges Xi to free Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai

US President Donald Trump says he has asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “consider” releasing Hong Kong’s pro-democracy businessman Jimmy Lai, who was found guilty under the city’s controversial national security law earlier this week.

“I feel terrible,” Trump told reporters. “I spoke with President Xi about this issue and asked for his release to be considered.”

While Britain similarly called for the “immediate release” of the 78-year-old, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper condemned the decision and described it as “politically motivated persecution”.

Lai, a British citizen, has been in prison since December 2020 and will be sentenced early next year. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Trump made brief comments to reporters at the White House on Monday but did not specify when he brought Lai’s case to Xi.

“He is an old man and his condition is not good. So I made this request. Let’s see what happens, okay?” he said.

His comments came after a Hong Kong court on Monday found Lai guilty of colluding with foreign powers.

The decision was welcomed by Hong Kong chief executive John Lee, who said Lai’s actions were “harmful to the country’s interests and the well-being of Hongkongers”, but rights groups called it a “cruel judicial farce”.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called for Lai’s “immediate release” in her speech to Parliament on Monday, saying: “He was targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression.”

He added that the Foreign Office had summoned the Chinese Ambassador “to emphasize our position in the strongest terms” and that it was “heartbreaking that the rights of a British man have been violated in this way in Hong Kong”.

China’s foreign ministry earlier Monday rejected criticism of Lai’s case, describing them as “brazenly slandering and slandering the judicial system in Hong Kong.”

Lai was convicted on Monday under the city’s controversial national security law; Rights groups say it is used to crush dissent, but Beijing defends it as necessary for the city’s stability.

He was also found guilty of publishing inflammatory material on Apple Daily under a separate colonial-era law.

His arrest and conviction raised concerns from human rights groups and foreign leaders who have long called for his release.

His children have expressed serious concerns about Lai’s deteriorating health in prison, with Sebastien telling the BBC earlier this year that his father “could die in prison” given his age and health.