(TibetanReview.net, Oct01’26) – US President Donald Trump has said on Sep 30 that he discussed the release of certain political prisoners with Chinese President Xi Jinping when they met in the White House last week. However, he is seen as silent on rights issues generally.
“I did with President Xi. I did,” Reuters Sep 30 quoted Trump as telling reporters when asked if he brought up the cases of political prisoners like Myanmar scholar and US citizen Min Zin, who was arrested in June, and Hong Kong’s most vocal China critic and media tycoon Jimmy Lai.
“We talked, and I think we had some very, very important discussions. Hopefully, fruitful discussions,” Trump has added.
The report noted that ahead of Xi’s visit, the White House had said Trump was expected to bring up cases of people wrongfully detained in China with the Chinese leader.
However, it did not say if Trump aimed to directly raise broader rights issues related to Tibet, the Uyghur Muslim minority group, and China’s new “ethnic unity” law.
The report noted that Trump had made winning freedom for Americans held overseas a priority, including in China, even as he had largely avoided talking about China’s treatment of Tibetans, Uyghurs and voices of dissent.
Lai’s case had sparked global concerns over China’s national security clampdown in Hong Kong, in part reflecting his prominence as founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper. The 78-year-old Hong Kong democracy supporter was sentenced to 20 years in jail in February on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials as perceived by China.
Washington in August designated Myanmar scholar and US citizen Min Zin as wrongfully detained after his arrest by Chinese authorities in June.