In a packed DC briefing room last Tuesday, Sebastian Lai spoke cautiously, each word carefully weighed. His father, billionaire Jimmy Lai—77, Catholic, and Hong Kong’s most defiant publisher—is languishing in what Sebastian described as an overheated cell, denied air conditioning and, at times, even communion. “Without the eye kept on Hong Kong,” Lai intoned, “my father will most likely die in prison. There is no chance he will get a fair trial.”
Flanking him were his father’s British lawyer, Jonathan Price; Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ), a longtime advocate for Chinese dissidents in Washington; Adam Savit, director of the China Policy Initiative at the America First Policy Institute; and Robert Wilkie, former VA secretary and co-chair of American Security at AFPI, which hosted the event.
Lai spoke with striking gratitude to President Donald Trump, calling him a leader with “the drive and the experience,” and suggesting that the challenge now is “getting all leaders to follow his lead.” With Trump’s visit to Britain only a week away, the implication was clear: Lai hopes that Washington can stiffen London’s spine at a moment when the Labour government is edging toward a pragmatic normalization with Beijing. He also lamented that his father’s trial has been dragged out for years—most recently over health concerns—leaving him in limbo more than 1,700 days since his arrest. As a Catholic, Lai also stated that he would welcome Pope Leo’s public support for his father’s cause.
Without pressing outright, the subtext of his appeal was unmistakable: Trump must pressure Prime Minister Keir Starmer into linking Jimmy Lai’s case with Britain’s normalization effort. “If they can send 5,000 people to raid your building," Sebastian suggested, “then this is not just about the free press—it is about commercial rights.”
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