President Trump feels that PRC dictator Xi Jinping is unlikely to release Jimmy Lai, the former publisher of the pro-democracy and anti-CCP Hong Kong paper Apple Daily.
Lai, 78, was recently sentenced to twenty years in prison as punishment for being a prominent leader of Hongkongers’ protests for freedom and democracy and against the tyranny of the Chinese Communist Party. The National Security Law of 2020 put an end to those protests and many other things.
Trump says that he did again ask Xi to release Lai during last week’s talks in Beijing but that Xi was not receptive. Although the president hasn’t said so, it is likely that nothing he agreed to during his talks with Xi was conditioned on release of Lai or anybody else (Associated Press, May 15, 2026).
Speaking to reporters as he flew back from a trip to China, Trump said Xi told him he would give serious consideration to the case of Ezra Jin Mingri [shown above], pastor of an underground church detained in China in October in what observers have called an escalating crackdown on religious freedom.
“He said he’s gonna strongly consider the pastor,” Trump said.
Trump said that the case of Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy Apple Daily who was accused of anti-China activities, was much more difficult for the Chinese president. “He told me that would be a tough one,” Trump said.
The families of both Jin and Lai said they appreciated Trump for raising their cases with Xi.
Jin’s Zion Church is among the largest so-called underground or house churches that are unregistered with the Chinese authorities. They defy Chinese government restrictions requiring believers to worship only in registered congregations….
Observers said Lai’s plight symbolizes a decline in freedoms that Beijing had promised when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Foreign governments, including the U.S. and U.K., have raised concerns about Lai for years. But the Hong Kong government insists his case had nothing to do with press freedom.
A registered congregation is a CCP-controlled church in which socialism with Chinese characteristics is preached along with whatever is allowed to be preached of Christian doctrines. In such churches one is also likely to find pictures of Xi Jinping on the walls.
On the basis of Trump’s interpretation of the Xi-vibes, it does seem more likely that Xi will let Jin go. But it hasn’t happened yet.
Also see:
Select Committee on the CCP: “House Passes Moolenaar-Supported Resolution Urging Release of CCP’s Political Prisoners” (May 13, 2026)
Associated Press: “Plight of imprisoned Hong Kong ex-publisher Jimmy Lai evokes grief over loss of press freedoms” (February 10, 2026)
“There’s no question that things are different in Hong Kong without the Apple Daily. Since it folded, the city’s once freewheeling press scene has changed drastically. Its voice was one of many that have been silenced in the former British colony.”
Fortify Rights: China: “Immediately and Unconditionally Release Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and Zion Church Members” (November 13, 2025)
CNN: “Effort to free Americans detained in China gains steam ahead of Trump-Xi meeting” (October 29, 2025)
