President Donald Trump disclosed Friday that he discussed with Chinese President Xi Jinping the potential release of an imprisoned underground church pastor and Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai during his recent China visit, with Xi indicating varying levels of receptiveness to each case.
During his flight home from China, Trump told reporters that Xi promised to seriously weigh the situation of Ezra Jin Mingri, an underground church pastor who was taken into custody in October amid what observers describe as China’s intensifying restrictions on religious practices.
“He said he’s gonna strongly consider the pastor,” Trump stated.
However, Trump indicated that Xi viewed Lai’s circumstances as significantly more complicated. The founder of the shuttered pro-democracy publication Apple Daily faces accusations related to anti-China activities. “He told me that would be a tough one,” Trump explained.
Both families expressed appreciation for Trump’s intervention on behalf of their loved ones.
Jin leads Zion Church, which ranks among China’s largest unofficial religious congregations that operate without government registration. These churches challenge Chinese regulations that mandate worship only occur in officially approved religious institutions.
Grace Jin Drexel, the pastor’s daughter, expressed Friday that her family and supporters felt “overjoyed” upon learning of Trump’s advocacy for her father.
“It’s truly nothing short of miraculous!” she communicated to The Associated Press. “We could not be more grateful to President Trump and his skillful administration for pressing the case!”
Even though Trump conveyed less optimism regarding Lai’s prospects, the former media executive’s daughter, Claire Lai, also thanked Trump and his team for their dedication to securing her father’s freedom.
“He has earned his reputation as liberating the unjustly detained and I am confident he and his administration will be the ones to free my father,” she told the AP.
She characterized this period as a chance for Xi to pursue “the only just and honorable thing” for Lai and demonstrate goodwill globally by freeing someone she described as devoted to Hong Kong.
Human rights advocates note that Beijing has grown increasingly reluctant to free prisoners who have challenged government authority on civil liberties during Xi’s leadership. In 2017, Chinese Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo passed away at a hospital in northeastern China despite international appeals for his release to receive cancer treatment overseas.
Prior to his detention, the 78-year-old Lai frequently criticized Xi and the governing Communist Party. He received a 20-year prison sentence in February under national security legislation that Beijing implemented in 2020, which has effectively eliminated opposition voices in Hong Kong.
Lai faced conviction for conspiracy involving collaboration with foreign entities and working with others to distribute seditious materials. His pro-democracy Apple Daily publication was forced to close during a government crackdown that followed widespread anti-government demonstrations that disrupted the city in 2019.
Analysts suggest Lai’s situation represents the erosion of liberties that Beijing had guaranteed when the former British territory returned to Chinese control in 1997. International governments, including the U.S. and U.K., have expressed concerns about Lai’s case for years. However, Hong Kong officials maintain his prosecution was unrelated to press freedom issues.
Earlier this week, China’s foreign ministry characterized Lai as a central organizer of anti-China operations designed to undermine Hong Kong’s stability, emphasizing that the city’s matters constitute China’s domestic concerns.
