Story
Sep 17, 2026
Jimmy Lai’s family presses Trump to seek release before Xi meeting
Jimmy Lai’s family portrays his detention as an urgent humanitarian crisis, while US congressional supporters and rights advocates cast it as a wider test of political freedoms in Hong Kong. They agree on the need for outside pressure, but emphasize different stakes: family separation, accountability and the future of US-China engagement.
Jimmy Lai’s family is urging the Trump administration to seek the jailed Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist’s release when President Xi Jinping is expected to visit Washington on September 24. Lai, 78, has spent nearly six years in solitary confinement and faces a possible 20-year sentence, according to accounts from his family and supporters.1
For Sebastien Lai, the case is primarily about time. He told a congressional hearing that his father is Hong Kong’s oldest political prisoner and “if he is not released soon, he will probably die in prison.” He also appealed for compassionate release after Lai learned in prison that his daughter, Claire, had been diagnosed with cancer and begun chemotherapy.2
The family says Lai’s health has declined in custody, citing heart problems, falling nails, deteriorating teeth and severe skin rashes during the summer heat. His international legal team argues that prolonged solitary confinement poses particular risks for an elderly person with diabetes. Those assertions are presented by Lai’s relatives and lawyers; the material provided includes no response from Hong Kong or Chinese authorities.
US congressional supporters place the appeal in a broader political frame. Representative Chris Smith said Lai was not jailed for violence, arguing that he used “his voice, his newspaper, and his public platform to support freedom and democracy.” Smith has introduced the Jimmy Lai Hong Kong Political Prisoner Accountability Act of 2026, which would require the State Department to review deaths in custody involving Hong Kong political prisoners and sanction officials found responsible.2
Other advocates describe a potential release as a diplomatic opportunity. Mark Clifford of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong said it would be welcomed across party lines, while analyst Steve Yates called the case a test of Xi’s leadership and of the US relationship with China. Sebastien Lai, however, keeps the request more personal: “My father is no threat,” he said, asking that Lai be allowed to return home and be with his daughter.2