Ahead of Xi US visit, Jimmy Lai son urges release of media mogul

The son of jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai called for his release on Wednesday ahead of a visit to Washington by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

"A week from now, President Xi will be a guest in this city," Sebastien Lai told a hearing of the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

"Our appeal to him is simple," Lai said. "My father poses no threat. His imprisonment makes him a symbol of injustice.

"His death in prison would be a disgrace," he said. "Let Jimmy Lai come home to his family."

Jimmy Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February after being found guilty of foreign collusion and seditious publication.

The sentence was the harshest penalty doled out so far under a national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing after widespread pro-democracy protests in 2019 and received international condemnation.

Xi is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on September 24.

Trump said in May following a visit to China that he had discussed Lai's fate with Xi but his release was unlikely.

Freeing Lai is a "tough one for him to do," the US president said.