When President Trump travels to Beijing this week to meet with Xi Jinping, he will have a rare opportunity to secure the freedom of one of the world’s most prominent political prisoners: Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai. Despite years of efforts by U.S. officials and members of Congress, no one has yet been able to secure Lai’s release. President Trump could deliver a win for American diplomacy and the cause of free expression in China.
Jimmy Lai is one of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy voices. As the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, he built a leading independent newspaper and used it to defend press freedom. Lai was first arrested in August 2020 following Beijing’s imposition of the National Security Law, and again in December 2020. In February 2026, he was sentenced to an additional 20 years in prison and remains behind bars after more than five years in detention, almost entirely in solitary confinement.
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