Before he won his second presidential term, US President Donald Trump made a promise during his campaign; if he was re-elected to the White House, he would free the self-made billionaire and the pro-democracy firebrand Jimmy Lai from a Hong Kong prison. “100% I’ll get him out. He’ll be easy to get out,” Trump declared when asked by podcast host Hugh Hewitt whether he would speak to Xi to get Lai out of prison if he won the election.
The 77-year-old media mogul, an activist, who has been a thorn in Beijing’s eye, has been in detention at a maximum-security prison, much of it in solitary confinement. While he stares down at a possibility to spend the rest of his life there, a planned meeting between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping this week is igniting hope that he might be finally free.
Ahead of Trump’s high stakes upcoming Beijing summit, Lai’s son said his family is now hoping that Trump can help secure his father’s release.
The US president had publicly vowing to secure the release of the jailed Hong Kong-based outspoken founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, a pro-democracy tabloid newspaper that irked Beijing for its trenchant critiques and assault against the Chinese Communist Party (CPC).
Describing the 76-year-old pro-democracy activist as a victim of political persecution, Trump had told reporters before his re-election that he was “100 percent” confident he could negotiate Lai’s freedom.
My friend Jimmy Lai is being held by Communist China because of his fight for FREEDOM and DEMOCRACY. America will not stand idly by while this evil communist regime suppresses people’s God-given rights.
105 Members of Congress are standing with Rep. Chris Smith and me in urging… pic.twitter.com/8SZfLcB8ws
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) May 7, 2026
Trump’s bold pledge about freeing Lai may set a confrontational tone for the high-level talks. The White House signalled that Hong Kong’s judicial independence and the treatment of political prisoners would be central to the administration’s “deal-making” agenda with China.
Trump, during his visit to China, is expected to discuss trade, the Iran war and Taiwan with Xi. He is also planning to bring up Lai. The US president told conservative radio host Hewitt, once again, he will bring up the subject with Xi, adding, “there’s a little bitterness, I would say, with him and Jimmy Lai.” In December, the US president expressed sympathy for the jailed mogul, saying: “I feel so badly [for him].”
Over 100 US lawmakers in a bipartisan group have sent a letter to the White House ahead of Trump’s China summit, urging that he seek Lai’s release.
A Hong Kong Court sentenced Lai on two counts of colluding with foreign forces and a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Under the 2020 National Security Law (NSL) imposed by Beijing, “colluding with foreign forces” is a serious offence punishable by up to life in prison. Lai was convicted in late 2025 and sentenced to 20 years in prison in February 2026 under similar offences, marking one of the strictest applications of the law yet.
The fate of Jimmy Lai has become a symbol of the broader struggle over Hong Kong’s autonomy under the national security law.
The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, in custody, faces a potential life sentence. With respect to the Hong Kong court’s final verdict in his high-profile trial, international human rights groups and US lawmakers pushed back and intensified pressure on the Trump administration to use its economic leverage to force a concession from Beijing. “President Xi would not be exactly thrilled by doing it,” Trump said in an interview last year. “With all of that being said, his name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do.”
Fight to Free the ‘Free Press Legend’
Support for Lai has reached a fever pitch in both Hong Kong and Washington. Ahead of Trump’s Beijing visit, a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers is framing his release as a litmus test for US-China relations. Representative Chris Smith, chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, has repeatedly called for Lai’s unconditional release, describing him as a “man of faith and a champion of freedom” who is being targeted for his commitment to a free press.
Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, has also been active on Capitol Hill, urging President Trump to make his father’s case a non-negotiable priority during his face-to-face meeting with President Xi.
The “Free Jimmy Lai” campaign has gained global traction, with supporters arguing that the tycoon’s health is deteriorating in solitary confinement. “My father is 76 years old, he has been in prison for years for standing up for the values we all hold dear,” Sebastien Lai noted in a statement.
President Trump has shown he is a deal-maker, and we hope he can make the most important deal of all: bringing my father home, Lai’s son said.
Despite these pleas, legal experts in Hong Kong warn that a presidential intervention could be viewed by Beijing as an affront to its “judicial sovereignty”.
Beijing Warns Against ‘Foreign Interference’
The Chinese government has time and again reacted sharply to Trump’s rhetoric of freeing Lai, warning the US to cease all interference in its internal affairs and the legal processes of Hong Kong. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has consistently maintained that Jimmy Lai is an “anti-China agent” who conspired with foreign powers to incite chaos in the city during the 2019 protest movement.
Officials in Beijing have signalled that while they are open to discussing trade and regional security, the “rule of law” in Hong Kong is not up for negotiation. “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,” Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, earlier said at a presser on the prospect of Trump trying to secure the release of the jailed media mogul.
However, recently, Mark Clifford, president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation, which advocates for Lai’s release, told ABC reporters that people briefed on the October meeting told him that Xi and his staff “noted” Trump’s remarks without pushing back aggressively. According to his source, Trump had also instructed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to raise Lai’s release in last June’s trade talks with China. “It is positive that senior Chinese officials have stopped pushing back on the issue,” he told the network.
Recent developments suggest that Beijing may be doubling down rather than relenting. But despite Trump’s earlier calls for leniency, Lai has faced increasingly severe sentencing in related cases, a move seen by many as a preemptive strike by China to show it will not be intimidated by American pressure. This “judicial wall” presents a significant challenge for Trump’s transactional style of diplomacy, as President Xi has made the integration of Hong Kong a cornerstone of his “national rejuvenation” policy.
Lai Verdict Looms Over Xi-Trump Summit
The timing of the Trump-Xi summit is critical, as a Hong Kong court is expected to deliver a verdict on the most serious national security charges against Lai in the coming days. If convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment shortly after or during the visit, it would represent a significant diplomatic blow to the US administration.
Conversely, a last-minute “medical parole” or deportation deal could be framed as a major win for Trump’s personal diplomacy and a signal of a temporary thaw in the “New Cold War”.
As Trump prepares to depart for Beijing, lawmakers and supporters of Lai are anticipating that the US President’s “100 percent” guarantee will manifest as a tangible victory for human rights or remain an unfulfilled campaign promise. The outcome of the talks will not only determine the future of the pro-democracy activist but will also define the terms of US engagement with a resurgent China for the remainder of the decade. For Jimmy Lai, currently held in a maximum-security facility, the “Art of the Deal” carries high stakes.
