Jimmy Lai’s son urges Trump to seek father’s release before Xi visit

Advocates and Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, are urging current President Donald Trump to make his father’s release a priority when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits the White House on Sept. 24. Lai, a 78-year-old Hong Kong Catholic media founder and pro-democracy critic, is serving a 20-year sentence under Beijing’s national security law, which U.S. officials and other critics have denounced as politically motivated. His son appealed for humanitarian release, citing Lai’s deteriorating health and the family’s struggle as Lai’s daughter undergoes cancer treatment, and urged Pope Leo XIV to use the Vatican’s moral influence on his behalf. At a congressional hearing, lawmakers pressed Trump to be direct and persistent with Xi, though Trump has previously acknowledged that securing Lai’s release would be difficult.