Jimmy Lai's son urges democracies to press for father's release

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai (黎智英), who has been in maximum security detention for nearly five years, is in "poor health," his son Sebastien Lai (黎崇恩) said as he urged the international community to act to save his father's life.

Sebastien Lai told CNA on Monday (Italian Time) that he welcomed a recent statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who indicated he may raise his father's case at the upcoming Trump-Xi meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on Thursday.

"When we heard this, of course we were very happy," Lai said, adding that Trump "understands well Jimmy Lai's situation"

Sebastien Lai also said he hopes his father can be released "as soon as possible."

Jimmy Lai, 78, founded Next Digital Ltd., which published influential newspaper Apple Daily that Hong Kong authorities claimed incited anti-government protests and undermined Chinese sovereignty in the former British colony.

The billionaire media mogul was arrested in August 2020 after Beijing imposed the Hong Kong National Security Law and cracked down on pro-democracy figures. He was arrested again in December 2020 and has been detained in Hong Kong since then.

"Now his health is really very bad," Sebastien Lai told CNA in Rome, the same day he spoke at an event at the Italian Senate.

"This is not only about the issue of freedom. It is also one life that needs to be saved," he said.

Jimmy Lai is a Catholic, and his wife Teresa Lai (李韻琴) and daughter Claire Lai (黎采) attended a public audience with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 15.

"As Catholics, it was a very honorable moment for my mother and sister to receive an audience with the Pope," Sebastien Lai said, noting that "it means the Vatican also knows about my father's case."

He added that his father "still firmly believes that he acted correctly under the will of God" and that "faith in God makes him strong."

Former Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and current senator Giulio Terzi held a press conference at the Italian Senate on Monday in support of Jimmy Lai.

The event was also attended by Italian Federation for Human Rights (FIDU) Secretary-General Eleonora Mongelli, Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) UK and Europe Director Mark Sabah, and King's Counsel (KC) Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who leads Jimmy Lai's legal team.

Speaking at the event, Sebastien Lai said his father has been held in maximum security solitary confinement, which is meant to send him a message: "No one cares about you, you will die alone."

"Obviously that is not the case," he said. "His case has moved multiple people -- many, many people -- around the world."

Sebastien Lai said a verdict in his father's case "is going to be passed in the coming weeks," adding that "the time to do something is now."

He said the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), Canada and Australia have already called for his father's release, and he hopes Italy will join "like-minded countries" to call for Lai's "immediate and unconditional release."