Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison in February on foreign collusion and sedition charges following widespread pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. (EPA Images pic)WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that China harbours a "great level of hatred" towards Hong Kong's pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai and is unlikely to release him from jail.
Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison on charges of foreign collusion and sedition following widespread pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
Rights groups and foreign governments have called for Lai's release, and Trump said in May that he had previously discussed the case with President Xi Jinping.
