Advocates urge Trump to push for Jimmy Lai release during Xi’s state visit to the US
Advocates urge President Trump to demand Jimmy Lai's release during Xi Jinping's White House visit. Rep. Chris Smith held a hearing on September 16, hearing testimonies from Lai's son. U.S. officials have previously urged Xi to free political prisoners, citing Lai and Ezra Jin Mingri. Lai, a Hong Kong Catholic media tycoon, was sentenced to 20 years under the national security law, and his case remains unresolved.
14 days ago
Advocates, Jimmy Lai’s family and bipartisan U.S. lawmakers are urging President Donald Trump to make Lai’s release a priority when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Washington on Sept. 24. They cite Lai’s age, deteriorating health, prolonged solitary confinement and his daughter Claire’s cancer diagnosis, while calling for either his release or compassionate release. 1 2
Trump is scheduled to host Xi at the White House in late September, creating an opportunity for renewed pressure over Lai’s imprisonment. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., co-chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, said Trump should be direct and persistent with Xi and “not take no for an answer.” 1
Trump previously raised Lai’s case with Xi during a May summit in China. That meeting was followed by the release of Chinese pastor Ezra Jin Mingri, another prisoner of concern to U.S. officials, but Lai remained imprisoned. 1
The White House had not said whether Trump would raise Lai’s imprisonment during the upcoming state visit. Lai’s son, Sebastien, said he did not regard the earlier discussion as a lost cause and hoped Trump would continue raising the issue. 1 2
Smith held a Sept. 16 congressional hearing on Lai’s imprisonment, with Sebastien Lai, China and national-security researcher Steve Yates, and Mark Clifford of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation among the witnesses. Smith said Lai was imprisoned for using his newspaper and public platform to support freedom and democracy, rather than for advocating violence. 2 3
Smith also introduced the “Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026.” The measure would require the State Department to quickly assess the death in custody of a Hong Kong political prisoner and impose sanctions on officials found responsible. 2 3
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has likewise urged Congress to continue speaking out for Lai and other prisoners of conscience in China. The reporting describes support for Lai’s release as bipartisan. 1
Sebastien Lai told lawmakers that his father, 78, is Hong Kong’s oldest political prisoner and could die in prison if he is not released soon. Jimmy Lai has received a 20-year sentence and, by the end of 2026, will have spent six years in a maximum-security prison, including extended solitary confinement, according to his son. 2 3
The family’s appeal gained urgency after Claire Lai was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer and began chemotherapy in London. Sebastien said Jimmy learned of the diagnosis from prison and could not be present to support his daughter. 1 2
Sebastien called on Chinese authorities to consider compassionate release so that his father could return home and be with Claire during her treatment. He said Lai’s imprisonment made him a symbol of injustice and that his death in prison would be a disgrace. 2 3
Sebastien said his father’s health had not improved in solitary confinement. He reported heart problems, deteriorating teeth, nails falling off and rashes that caused him to bleed, while expressing particular concern about the heat inside the prison during Hong Kong’s record summer. 2 3
Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who leads Lai’s international legal team, said the risks associated with prolonged solitary confinement are especially serious for elderly or diabetic prisoners and described the situation as urgent. She also said Lai’s case illustrates broader restrictions on expression and political activity in Hong Kong. 2 3
Lai, a Catholic, philanthropist and media entrepreneur, founded the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. He was arrested in August 2020 under Hong Kong’s national security law and has been imprisoned since December of that year. 1
He was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious material, charges he denied. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Feb. 9, 2026. U.S. officials and advocates have characterized the prosecution as part of a broader effort by the Chinese Communist Party to silence dissent. 1
Lai’s international legal team also called for his release before the United Nations Human Rights Council on Sept. 15. His supporters say the case has significance beyond Lai himself because his treatment is viewed as a warning to other Hong Kong dissidents. 1 2
Advocates described Lai’s case as a test of Xi’s leadership, Trump’s relationship with the Chinese president and the credibility of U.S. policy toward Hong Kong. Mark Clifford said Lai’s release would be welcomed by Republicans, Democrats and other supporters of freedom as a unifying event. 2 3
The planned summit is also expected to address artificial intelligence, the U.S. war with Iran and a potential U.S. arms deal with Taiwan. Those issues are expected to compete with human-rights concerns, including Lai’s imprisonment, for attention during the meeting. 1
A separate Sept. 17 report also describes Jimmy Lai’s son as urging Pope Leo XIV to help secure his father’s release. 4*
What Catholic teaching informs advocacy for political prisoners?
Catholic advocacy for political prisoners is grounded in the God-given dignity, freedom, and rights of every human person, together with the Gospel’s command to show mercy to those imprisoned.
Human dignity is inalienable. A person does not lose dignity through accusation, political opposition, or even guilt. Restrictions on freedom must have limits, and imprisonment should aim not only at protecting society but also at restoring the offender to communal life.
Freedom of conscience and religion must be protected. Catholic teaching recognizes freedom of conscience as foundational to human rights and insists that political systems respect freedom of thought, association, expression, and religious practice.
Political repression violates justice. Laws and prison practices that contradict human dignity and fundamental rights should be abolished or reformed. The Church specifically identifies discrimination and harassment based on political or religious convictions as abuses requiring correction.
Christ identifies himself with prisoners. Advocacy is not merely political activism; it is also a work of mercy. Jesus’ words—“I was in prison and you visited me”—give Christians a direct obligation to attend to prisoners’ needs.
The Church may publicly defend justice and freedom. Bishops and Catholic institutions have a duty to promote human rights, challenge oppression, and seek reconciliation. This is not necessarily partisan politics; it is part of the Church’s mission to serve the common good.
Advocacy must be truthful and nonpartisan. Catholic social teaching does not prescribe one political program. Public policies should be judged by their effect on human dignity and the common good, while practical strategies may legitimately be debated.
Thus, Catholics may advocate for fair trials, humane detention, access to counsel and family, religious freedom, release or amnesty where appropriate, and an end to imprisonment motivated by peaceful political or religious dissent. Such advocacy should defend the prisoner’s rights without requiring agreement with every political position the prisoner holds.