Trump vows to push for release of jailed Catholic activist Jimmy Lai

President Donald Trump has promised to do “everything [he] can” to “save” jailed Catholic activist Jimmy Lai, saying this week that he has “already brought it up” in government circles.

Speaking to Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, Trump added: “I didn’t say 100% I’d save him. I said 100% I’m going to be bringing it up. Lai’s name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about.”

The pledge comes as Lai, 77, nears the conclusion of a lengthy national security trial in Hong Kong, repeatedly delayed in recent days by storms and concerns for his fragile health. The Catholic convert, arrested in August 2020 under Beijing’s national security law, has been imprisoned ever since, receiving multiple sentences for alleged unlawful assembly and fraud. His security trial began in December 2023 after years of postponements.

Father Robert Sirico, founder of the Acton Institute, told Catholic News Agency at the trial’s outset that a fair hearing was unlikely: “When was the last time you saw a totalitarian government put someone through their court system and have them come out innocent?” Writing in the Free Press this week, he said the case was “subject to Chinese control,” noting that “the three judges were handpicked by Hong Kong’s chief executive, who is under the thumb of the CCP.”

Beijing has reacted angrily to U.S. involvement. On 14 August, Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s embassy in Washington, called Lai “a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilising activities in Hong Kong.” He warned: “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.”

Despite the hostility, Lai has attracted international recognition. The Catholic University of America displayed his artwork in 2024, while earlier this year he was awarded the Bradley Prize for being an “inspiration to all who value freedom.” A United States congressional bill has even proposed renaming a portion of 18th Street Northwest in Washington as “Jimmy Lai Way.”

Before entering prison, Lai’s Catholic faith had long shaped his public witness. Baptised in 1997, he has frequently spoken of how his conversion to Catholicism gave him the courage to resist Communist pressure. Friends say he begins each day in prayer and attends daily Mass whenever possible.

In interviews, Lai has described his activism as an expression of conscience rooted in Catholic teaching, insisting that freedom of speech and the dignity of the human person flow from the truth of the Gospel.

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