Jimmy Lai Imprisonment: Trump Should Press China to Release Pro-Democracy Advocate

At the China summit in May, President Donald Trump asked Chinese Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping to release prisoners of conscience pastor Ezra Jin and Jimmy Lai. Only one of them, Jin, the founding head of China’s large evangelical Zion Church, was subsequently freed.

Trump said Xi, who is also China’s president, told him it would be “tough” to free Lai, the independent press founder who is serving a 20-year sentence for pro-democracy advocacy in Hong Kong. Our president should recognize that under China’s communist party system, these cases are only as tough as Xi makes them. The two heads of state are to meet again in September, in Washington, giving the president another shot at freeing Lai.

About the Author

Nina Shea

Nina Shea is director of Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom and author of the new report “Ten Persecuted Catholic Bishops in China”

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At the China summit in May, President Donald Trump asked Chinese Communist Party Secretary General Xi Jinping to release prisoners of conscience pastor Ezra Jin and Jimmy Lai. Only one of them, Jin, the founding head of China’s large evangelical Zion Church, was subsequently freed.

Trump said Xi, who is also China’s president, told him it would be “tough” to free Lai, the independent press founder who is serving a 20-year sentence for pro-democracy advocacy in Hong Kong. Our president should recognize that under China’s communist party system, these cases are only as tough as Xi makes them. The two heads of state are to meet again in September, in Washington, giving the president another shot at freeing Lai.