Pope Leo
“I can’t comment,” American-born Leo told EWTN News, which covers Catholic news worldwide, while speaking to reporters in Italy.
“Let’s pray for less hate and more peace and work toward authentic dialogue. God bless you all.”
Hong Kong publisher and democracy activist Jimmy Lai, a converted Catholic, was sentenced to 20 years by Beijing last month for violating the 2020 national security law, which U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called “unjust and tragic.”
Pope Leo (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images; Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)
“This belief shows the world that Beijing will go to great lengths to silence those who advocate basic freedoms in Hong Kong,” Rubio said in a statement. “The United States urges authorities to grant Mr. Lai humanitarian parole.”
The 78-year-old founded the now closed Hong Kong-based Apple Daily in 1995, while the island was still under British rule.
Lai’s sentence capped one of the country’s most sweeping national security cases since Beijing imposed the sweeping new law in 2020 after months of protests against the Chinese Communist Party in 2019, which were fueled by fears that Beijing would erode Hong Kong’s promised autonomy.
Lai has been in custody since 2020. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
They were followed by a sweeping security crackdown that criminalized dissent and reformed the city’s justice system.
CHINA’S FAKE CONVICTION OF JIMMY LAI IS A WARNING
Lai was arrested several times during the 2019 protests and was detained in his home in 2020. His newspaper was also raided and closed at the time.
He was found guilty in December of attempting to undermine national security.
Jimmy Lai supporters in Los Angeles last month. (Apu Gomes/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump said in December that he had personally urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Lai.
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“I have spoken to President Xi about it and asked him to consider his release,” Trump said. ‘He’s not doing well. He’s an older man, and he’s not doing well, so I made that request. We’ll see what happens.’
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