Trump Says Xi Rebuffed Request to Free 78-Year-Old Jimmy Lai as Taiwan Tensions Persist
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 15
Trump Says Xi Rebuffed Request to Free 78-Year-Old Jimmy Lai as Taiwan Tensions Persist
9 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 15
Trump said Xi Jinping gave a "not positive" response when he asked during their China summit to release Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old Hong Kong media founder jailed for 20 years.
Trump said he raised Lai's age, declining health and prison conditions at length, but came away "not optimistic" that Beijing would free him.
Claire Lai had said a day earlier she was more hopeful than ever that the Trump administration could secure her father's release, calling Trump the "liberator-in-chief."
The exchange underscored wider U.S.-China friction: Trump said Taiwan remained a major fault line after Xi warned it could trigger "clashes and even conflicts," even as Xi offered help on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
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