India, May 9 -- Before he won his second presidential term, US President Donald Trump made a promise during his campaign; if he was re-elected to the White House, he would free the self-made billionaire and the pro-democracy firebrand Jimmy Lai from a Hong Kong prison. "100% I'll get him out. He'll be easy to get out," Trump declared when asked by podcast host Hugh Hewitt whether he would speak to Xi to get Lai out of prison if he won the election.

The 77-year-old media mogul, an activist, who has been a thorn in Beijing's eye, has been in detention at a maximum-security prison, much of it in solitary confinement. While he stares down at a possibility to spend the rest of his life there, a planned meeting between US President Trump and C...