Trump Says He Will Push for Release of Hong Kong Media Tycoon Jimmy Lai

The self-made millionaire and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily faces national security charges over his pro-democracy activism.

A prison van believed to be carrying Jimmy Lai arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building, where the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily is set to take the witness stand for the first time in his national security collusion trial, in Hong Kong on Nov. 20, 2024. Tyrone Siu/Reuters

President Donald Trump has said he would do what he can to help secure the release of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who has been imprisoned since late 2020 for his role in the city’s pro-democracy protests.

Speaking on Aug. 14 on Fox News Radio’s “The Brian Kilmeade Show,” Trump said he had urged China to free Lai during his previous administration and is willing to raise the issue again, should he meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the future.

“I’m going to be bringing it up—I’ve already brought it up—and I’m going to do everything I can to save him,” Trump said, calling the self-made millionaire a “respected guy” and a “good guy.”

Lai, 77, was arrested in August 2020 in the aftermath of mass protests against Hong Kong’s national security law, widely seen as the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) attempt to clamp down on dissent and erode the city’s autonomy.

Lai is the founder of Apple Daily, a now-defunct tabloid newspaper long known for sensational headlines and paparazzi photographs. Yet during the height of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests, when many legacy outlets in Hong Kong amplified the CCP’s narrative, Apple Daily stood out as a rare voice openly critical of Beijing’s agenda and outspoken in its solidarity with the protesters. The company was forced to shut down in June 2021, after the authorities raided its headquarters, froze its assets, and arrested its senior editors.

Since his arrest, Lai has been charged with multiple offenses under the national security law, including conspiracy to “collude with foreign forces,” which could land him in prison for life. He also faces a charge under a colonial-era statute for conspiracy to publish “seditious material,” stemming from numerous Apple Daily op-eds carrying his byline.

Lai has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai’s trial on alleged national security offences has been repeatedly delayed. It was set to resume in Hong Kong later this month, but was postponed again because of his health condition.

On Aug. 14, a panel of three Hong Kong judges adjourned the proceedings to allow time for prison authorities to outfit Lai with a heart monitor and provide medication. This came after his lawyer reported he had suffered heart palpitations.

Trump, whose July 2020 order ended the United States’ historical policy of treating Hong Kong as a separate entity from China, acknowledged that the topic would be sensitive for Xi.

“You could also understand [Chinese leader] Xi would not be exactly thrilled by doing it,” he said on “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”

“It was a very nasty period of time in the history of China. I mean, it was a really nasty period of time with all of that being said.

“We'll see what we can do ... we’re going to do everything we can.”

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, accused Lai of having been “a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong.”

Lai has long rejected accusations of advocating separatism.

The British rule of Hong Kong, lasting from 1841 to 1997, holds a unique place in the so-called century of humiliation narrative the CCP forged to justify its authority. After the handover, the city retained significant autonomy and freedoms, but over the decades, Beijing has steadily encroached on those rights, portraying dissenters as separatists allegedly backed by “foreign forces.”