Jimmy Lai's children look to Trump and other leaders to push China to free their father

WASHINGTON — The children of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, said Monday that a possible visit by President Donald Trump to Beijing in April could be “crucial” in securing the release of their 78-year-old father.

Lai's son and daughter pleaded for their father's freedom on humanitarian grounds after a Hong Kong court on Monday sentenced him to 20 years in prison following convictions under a Beijing-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city’s dissent.

“The president has said multiple times that this is a case that he cares about,” Sebastien Lai said about Trump during a call with reporters. “We are in a situation where the April visit will be, more obviously, be crucial, and, hopefully, my father will still be OK health-wise until that point.”

Speaking of his father, the younger Lai said “this is a man who is, unfortunately, is very close to dying. He’s a man who has gone through a tremendous amount. His body has deteriorated.”

The ruling in Hong Kong is certain to add friction to already fragile U.S.-China relations, with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping expected to meet this year to keep ties stabilized over thorny issues like tariffs, export restrictions and U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims is Chinese territory.

While Trump has said several times he will be visiting Beijing this April, China has yet to confirm it.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the decision to sentence Lai to 20 years “an unjust and tragic conclusion to this case.” In a statement, Rubio urged Chinese authorities to grant Lai humanitarian parole, noting that Lai and his family “have suffered enough” after a trial lasting two years and his detention for more than five years.

After Lai was convicted in December, Trump said he felt “so badly” and that he had asked Xi to consider releasing Lai, who is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, which was known for its critical reports about the governments in Hong Kong and Beijing.

“We’re hopeful but we don’t know,” his daughter Claire Lai said of the prospects that Trump would successfully negotiate for her father’s release.

Chris Tang, Hong Kong’s secretary for security, accused “external forces” of ignoring the facts and making biased criticisms of court decisions. “We will refute baseless allegations and smearing resolutely by presenting the truth and facts for all to see,” Tang said.

In an interview with The Associated Press in London, Sebastien Lai said it's time for world leaders to keep pressure on Beijing when they visit China or meet with Xi by bringing up his father's case.

“I could only pray that this pressure helps," the younger Lai said. “I think my father’s case is the litmus test to whatever engagement we have with China."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government said he directly raised Jimmy Lai’s case with Xi during a visit to China last month. U.K. officials said they will “rapidly engage further” after Monday’s sentencing, but it wasn’t clear what that entailed.

Sebastien Lai said he is “incredibly grateful” for Trump's past remarks about freeing his father, which have "given my family a lot of hope.”

Now, it's about saving his father's life, the son said.

“It’s a 20-year sentence, which is comically large, given that my father’s 78. At that point in 20 years, he’ll be 100 almost," he said. "But in the conditions he’s been kept in ... he might die before then.”

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Hui reported from London.