WASHINGTON ¨C U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would see what he could do to help ¡°save¡± detained Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, even though Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be ¡°thrilled.¡±
¡°I¡¯m going to do everything I can to save him,¡± Trump told Fox News Radio in an interview. ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do ... we¡¯re going to do everything we can.¡±
Lai, 77, has pleaded not guilty to charges under Hong Kong¡¯s national security law of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, as well as to a separate charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,500 days since December 2020.
Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for China¡¯s embassy in Washington, said Lai had been ¡°a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong.¡±
¡°We strongly oppose external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China¡¯s internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong¡¯s rule of law,¡± he said.
Trump has said he would raise Lai¡¯s case as part of negotiations with China over trade and tariffs.
On Monday, the U.S. and China extended a tariff truce for another 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on each other¡¯s goods. On Tuesday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade officials from the two sides will meet again within the next two or three months to discuss the future of the economic relationship.
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