Trump says he feels 'badly' about former Hong Kong media mogul's conviction

WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump said Monday that he feels "badly" about the conviction of former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai.

"I feel so badly," Trump told the reporters at the White House.

Trump said he also spoke to his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about his release.

"I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked (him) to consider his release. He's not well; he's an older man, and he's not well. So I did put that request out. We'll see what happens," he added.

Separately, the US State Department also echoed Trump's remarks, urging Beijing "to bring this ordeal to an end as soon as possible and to release Mr. Lai on humanitarian grounds."

"The guilty verdict in Mr. Lai’s national security case reflects the enforcement of Beijing’s laws to silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights—rights that China pledged to uphold in the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration. Mr. Lai is not alone in facing punishment for defending these rights," it said in a statement.

The 78-year-old media tycoon, who is also a British national, was found guilty on Monday on all three counts he was facing, including "conspiring to collude with foreign forces" as well as sedition under colonial-era legislation.

He faces a maximum life sentence, and a four-day mitigation hearing will begin on Jan. 12, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.

He was arrested in 2020 under the National Security Law, which was enacted following anti-government protests the previous year.