WASHINGTON, September 24, 2026 — The International Press Institute (IPI) has called on U.S. President Donald Trump to press for the release of imprisoned British-Hong Kong journalist and businessman Jimmy Lai when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday, warning that Lai’s health “is deteriorating rapidly behind bars.”
Lai, 78, was named a 2025 IPI-IMS World Press Freedom Hero by the Institute in October 2025 in recognition of his defense of press freedom and democracy, with his son Sebastien Lai accepting the award on his behalf. A Hong Kong court sentenced Lai to 20 years in prison in February 2026 under the National Security Law — effectively a life sentence — and he has spent most of his nearly six years in custody in solitary confinement, IPI said.
IPI said Lai’s children have warned that his ongoing health conditions, which include heart issues, diabetes, and hypertension, may soon prove fatal. “If he is not freed soon, he will most likely die in prison,” his son Sebastien Lai said in recent testimony before Congress, according to the Institute.
“The release of Jimmy Lai, and the many other journalists Beijing holds behind bars, must be on the agenda during Trump and Xi’s talks tomorrow,” IPI Executive Director Scott Griffen said. “Jimmy’s release is long overdue. Securing his freedom, which Trump has long called for, would be a powerful signal of the United States’ continued commitment to supporting and prioritising the cases of those punished for fighting for the values of freedom and democracy.”
IPI notes that Trump has repeatedly pressed Xi to release Lai, most recently at the two leaders’ May 2026 summit, and that the British prime minister reportedly asked Trump to raise the case of Lai — who is also a British citizen — ahead of Xi’s arrival in Washington.
A parallel congressional call came from the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Democratic leadership, whose September 23 statement urged Trump to press Xi for “the immediate release of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy publisher whose health has severely deteriorated in the past few weeks,” alongside journalist Dong Yuyu and Zhang Zhan, and to raise the cases of wrongfully detained U.S. citizens Min Zin and Youlin Chen.
Hong Kong authorities dispute the health claims. The HKSAR government said this month that claims about Lai’s health are “exaggerated,” that the Correctional Services Department ensures a safe, humane and healthy custodial environment with round-the-clock medical coverage and regular specialist visits, and that Lai’s senior counsel has repeatedly confirmed he lodged no complaints about his treatment. The Free China Movement reported the 20-year sentence and the case background earlier this month, and covered British advocacy for Lai’s release ahead of the summit.
IPI also cited the Committee to Protect Journalists’ ranking of China as one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, naming Zhang Zhan and Dong Yuyu as other prominent journalists behind bars.
Sources
- International Press Institute, United States: Trump must make Jimmy Lai’s release a priority during Xi visit (September 23, 2026)
- House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats, Meeks: President Must Stand Up for Allies and Human Rights at Trump-Xi Summit (September 23, 2026)
- Dim Sum Daily, HKSAR condemns US and western smears over Jimmy Lai case and rejects sanctions (September 17, 2026)