Trump appeals to Chinese leader Xi Jinping after Jimmy Lai convicted under Hong Kong’s national security law in case said to symbolises collapse of media freedoms in the city.

United States President Donald Trump has personally appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to release imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, saying he was deeply concerned about the 78-year-old’s health following his conviction.

On Monday, Hong Kong’s High Court found Lai guilty on three charges in his national security trial, a ruling condemned by rights groups as a decisive blow to press freedom in the Chinese financial hub.

Prosecutors accused Lai of orchestrating conspiracies to encourage foreign governments to take action against Hong Kong or China, and of publishing material that “excited disaffection” against Chinese authorities. Lai pleaded not guilty and now faces a possible life sentence following his guilty verdict.

“I spoke to President Xi about it, and I asked to consider his release,” Trump told reporters on Monday, without saying when he made the request to Xi.

“He’s an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.

Trump met Xi in October in South Korea, where he is believed to have raised Lai’s case with the Chinese leader. Shortly after Trump’s comments on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the verdict underscored Beijing’s determination to suppress dissent.

Rubio said the conviction showed China’s resolve to “silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights”.

Lai founded the now-defunct pro-democracy tabloid newspaper Apple Daily and became one of the most prominent pro-democracy figures targeted under Hong Kong’s national security law.

“Reports indicate that Mr. Lai’s health has severely deteriorated during more than 1,800 days in prison,” Rubio said in the statement. “We urge the authorities to bring this ordeal to an end as soon as possible and to release Mr. Lai on humanitarian grounds,” he said.

The United Kingdom also criticised the conviction of Lai as a “politically motivated prosecution” and called for his immediate release.

Lai, who has been detained since late 2020, is a British citizen. His son Sebastien said that the UK needed to increase pressure on Beijing.

“It’s time to put action behind words and make my father’s release a precondition to closer relationships with China,” Lai’s son said at a news conference in London.

Lai’s daughter, Claire, said her father would abandon political activism if freed from jail.

“He just wants to reunite with his family. He wants to dedicate his life to serving our Lord, and he wants to dedicate the rest of his days to his family,” she told the Associated Press in Washington.

“My father is fundamentally not a man who operates on illegal ground,” she said.

A devout Catholic, Lai has drawn support in the US from a loose coalition of democracy advocates, press freedom groups and Christian activists, a constituency that forms a key part of Trump’s political base.

The forced closure of Lai’s Apple Daily in 2021, once known for its fiercely critical reporting, marked a turning point for Hong Kong’s media landscape. News organisations have since scaled back critical coverage of China amid fears of prosecution in Hong Kong, while the city’s global press freedom ranking has fallen sharply, dropping to 140th out of 180 countries, according to advocacy group RFA.

“Although it’s an expected verdict, when the news came out, the feeling of ‘finally it’s here’ hit us,” said Edward Li, a former editor at Apple Daily currently residing in Taiwan.

“Not only does Hong Kong no longer have Apple Daily; Hong Kong no longer has a strong voice to criticise and monitor the government…, which is why we feel the need to fill that role,” Li said.