US president says he feels ‘so badly’ about former Hong Kong media tycoon’s conviction and has spoken to the Chinese leader about it
Donald Trump has said he wants Chinese leader Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai as he voiced sadness over the Hong Kong media mogul’s conviction on national security charges.
“I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump told reporters on Monday, without specifying when he asked Xi.
“He’s an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”
The US president had said before he returned to the White House that he wanted to free Lai, a businessman who launched the pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily.
