Trump Failed to Secure the Release of the Hong Kong Media Entrepreneur during his visit to Beijing – The Release of Pastor Jin appears possible
US President Donald Trump failed to secure the release of Jimmy Lai during his visit to Beijing. The 78-year-old Catholic media entrepreneur—who is in frail health and is a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party—was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong on February 9, 2026. He has already spent five years in solitary confinement—partly due to other convictions. Lai waived his right to appeal; the verdict is now final. Lai was convicted of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” and “seditious publications.” Lai, who is a friend of Hong Kong Cardinal Joseph Zen, founded—among other ventures—the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper *Apple Daily*. His family fears that he will „die behind bars as a martyr.” His son Sebastian stated that the “draconian prison sentence is devastating for our family and life-threatening for my father.”
Free Jimmy Lai © Michael Leh
The Release of Protestant Pastor Jin Appears Possible
Prior to his visit to Beijing last week, Trump had already announced that he would advocate for Lai’s release. He had also been urged to do so by more than 100 American representatives and senators. A House of Representatives resolution dated May 13 called not only for the release of Jimmy Lai but also—among others—for the release of Pastor Jin Mingri of Zion Church; Pastor Gao Quanfu and his wife, Pang Yu; and the Uyghur physician Gulshan Abbas, who was forcibly abducted on September 11, 2018, and subsequently sentenced to twenty years in prison following a secret trial. The resolution emphatically urged Trump to advocate for “verifiable proof of life, as well as access to independent legal counsel, contact with family members, and medical care for these detainees.” It reaffirmed the “United States’ commitment to defending political and religious freedom and to advocating for the release of those unjustly detained for exercising these fundamental freedoms.”
A demonstration in front of the Federal Foreign Office in 2020 against the new “National Security Law” in Hong Kong, which was also applied against Jimmy Lai. © Michael Leh
Jimmy Lai’s Daughter Claire Thanked Trump
Jimmy Lai’s daughter Claire has publicly thanked Trump for keeping his word and raising her father’s case with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Trump had previously done so during a meeting with Xi in South Korea last October. Speaking to the American media outlet „The Daily Wire”, Claire Lai stated that her father is “a sick man turning 79, who has always stood for democracy—against violence and against independence—and who simply wanted the promises made in the Sino-British Joint Declaration to be upheld—a declaration that China signed in the exercise of its own sovereignty.” “We hope,” the devout Catholic added, “that the Holy Spirit touches President Xi’s heart.” She continued:
“I remain convinced that it will be President Trump and his administration who secure my father’s release. In the meantime, I know that our Lord and the Blessed Mother will continue to watch over him, just as they always have.”
Hongkonger in Deutschland 612 2021 Weltzeituhr Alexanderplatz Berlin 2021/06/12 © Wanda Proft
Many Christians Arrested in Nationwide Raid
However, following his meeting with Xi in Beijing, Trump expressed pessimism regarding Lai’s potential release. Trump told reporters that Xi had indicated to him that Jimmy Lai was a “difficult case.” Conversely, Trump noted that—in his impression—Xi Jinping was “very seriously considering” the release of the likewise-imprisoned Protestant pastor Jin Mingri (also known as Ezra Jin) of Zion Church. Pastor Jin, leader of one of the largest unregistered house churches in China, was arrested in October 2025 alongside other Christians. Benedict Rogers of the human rights organization Fortify Rights stated that, at the time of Pastor Jin’s arrest, 27 other pastors and members of the Zion Church were detained in a nationwide operation. At least 23 of them remain in custody to this day, including Pastor Gao Yinjia, Pastor Wang Lin, and Pastor Yin Huibin. “Their arrests represent the largest single, coordinated, and nationwide raid carried out against an unregistered urban church in China in 40 years,” Rogers declared. The crackdown involved arrests and enforced disappearances in Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Shenyang, Beihai, Jiaxing, and Qingdao. Pastor Jin suffers from severe Type 2 diabetes. His wife and children live in the United States; his daughter and his two sons are American citizens.
Hongkonger in Deutschland 612 2021 Weltzeituhr Alexanderplatz Berlin 2021/06/12 © Wanda Proft
Citizen Journalist Zhang Zhan Sentenced Again
The human rights organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) draws particular attention to the imprisoned citizen journalist Zhang Zhan. She was sentenced to four years in prison in September 2025 on fabricated charges, having only just been released from a previous term of detention. She had originally been arrested in May 2020 for her reporting from Wuhan during the COVID-19 outbreak. She published more than 100 videos that contributed significantly to international understanding regarding the origins of the virus. “We are appalled by the severity with which Chinese authorities are attempting to intimidate and silence Zhang Zhan,” stated the Asia Bureau Chief for Reporters Without Borders. Zhang Zhan is regarded “worldwide as a courageous journalist who alerted the world to a pandemic at an early stage.” She “should be honored for this. Instead, she remains in detention—and her very life is at risk.”
This article by IGFM board member Michael Leh appeared on May 21 2026 in the Catholic weekly newspaper “Die Tagespost”. We publish it here with the kind permission of the author.