President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have blasted a Hong Kong court finding democracy advocate Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy and are urging Chinese authorities to facilitate his release.
Mr. Trump said on Monday that he was disappointed by the verdict and had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the matter.
“I feel so badly. I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked him to consider his release,” Mr. Trump told reporters on Monday. “[Mr. Lai is] an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens.”
A panel of three government judges on Monday convicted Mr. Lai, who ran the now-defunct pro-democracy outlet Apple Daily, of illegally conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles.
Mr. Lai, 78, faces up to life in prison for the collusion conviction, depending on his role in the crime, and up to two years imprisonment for the sedition conviction.
He was arrested in August 2020 following the adoption of China’s national security law, which passed following massive anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019. Mr. Lai and Apple Daily were outspoken supporters of the protestors and critics of the Chinese Communist Party.
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The outlet was forced to shutter in 2021 after Chinese authorities raided its offices and froze its assets.
Mr. Rubio said the conviction is in line with Beijing’s restrictive free speech laws.
“The guilty verdict in Mr. Lai’s national security case reflects the enforcement of Beijing’s laws to silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights,” Mr. Rubio wrote in a statement. “Mr. Lai is not alone in facing punishment for defending these rights.”
Mr. Rubio also cited reports that Mr. Lai’s health has deteriorated over his five-year captivity and urged Beijing to release him on “humanitarian grounds.”
The judges scheduled a January hearing where Mr. Lai’s lawyers will be able to present mitigating evidence before a sentence is handed down.
Both Mr. Lai’s lawyers and his family have testified that his health is failing and have called on Chinese, U.S. and British authorities to step in. Claire Lai told reporters earlier this year that her father is suffering from heart issues, exacerbated by his diabetes and high blood pressure.
Hong Kong medical authorities who inspected Mr. Lai said that they found no serious issues and that the media mogul had been provided “adequate and comprehensive” medical services in custody.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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