Hong Kong – South China Morning Post, October 29, 2024
US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has pledged to get jailed former Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying out of the country if elected. Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily tabloid newspaper, is behind bars in the maximum-security Stanley Prison awaiting the resumption of his high-profile national security trial. He is expected to take the witness box next month to defend himself against foreign collusion and sedition charges. In an interview with conservative podcast host Hugh Hewitt last Thursday, Trump was asked whether he would speak to Chinese President Xi Jinping to get Lai out of the country if he won the November 5 presidential election.“One hundred per cent, yes,” Trump said. “I’ll get him out. He’ll be easy to get out. But we don’t have people that even talk about it.
The former US president also said he had previously appealed to Xi after three American basketball players were detained for shoplifting in the mainland Chinese city of Hangzhou during a college tour in 2017.
