Trump to Raise Taiwan Arms Sales and Jimmy Lai's Release at High-Stakes Beijing Summit Thursday

Taiwan's defense and Hong Kong's imprisoned media tycoon Jimmy Lai are set to dominate President Trump's agenda when he meets Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. Arms sales to Taiwan have long strained U.S.-China relations, with Beijing accusing Washington of violating the "one-China principle." The Trump administration has not moved forward with delivering a record $11 billion weapons package authorized in December, while Taiwan's parliament separately approved a $25 billion special defense budget to purchase U.S. missiles and weapons. Trump said Monday he would discuss both Taiwan arms sales and Lai's release with Xi. Lai, 78, founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, was sentenced in February to 20 years in prison, the longest sentence issued under Hong Kong's national security law introduced in 2020, after being convicted of colluding with foreign forces, endangering national security, and conspiracy to publish materials deemed harmful to the state.