Lai, meanwhile, was sentenced in February to 20 years for foreign collusion and sedition over his ownership of the now-defunct, pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper. In remarks to reporters on May 15, Trump said Xi had said he would "strongly consider the pastor." But the US president pointed out that his Chinese counterpart had described Lai's case as "a tough one," with Trump admitting he "didn't feel optimistic" about it.
onsdag 27. mai 2026
Chinese human rights cases in limbo after Trump-Xi meeting
During his summit with China's Xi Jinping this month , US President Donald Trump said that he brought up two prisoners — Christian pastor Ezra Jin Mingri and Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai. Mingri is the founder of the Zion Protestant Church, one of China's largest underground churches, who was arrested in 2025.
Lai, meanwhile, was sentenced in February to 20 years for foreign collusion and sedition over his ownership of the now-defunct, pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper. In remarks to reporters on May 15, Trump said Xi had said he would "strongly consider the pastor." But the US president pointed out that his Chinese counterpart had described Lai's case as "a tough one," with Trump admitting he "didn't feel optimistic" about it.
Lai, meanwhile, was sentenced in February to 20 years for foreign collusion and sedition over his ownership of the now-defunct, pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper. In remarks to reporters on May 15, Trump said Xi had said he would "strongly consider the pastor." But the US president pointed out that his Chinese counterpart had described Lai's case as "a tough one," with Trump admitting he "didn't feel optimistic" about it.