The national security trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was adjourned on Friday after the 77-year-old reported experiencing heart palpitations, prompting the court to delay closing submissions.
The closing submissions will recommence on Monday after the court adjourned to allow Lai to obtain medication and a heart monitor.
Lai, who founded the Apple Daily newspaper that was forced to close after a police raid and asset freeze in June 2021, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material.
Call For Release
Some Western governments, including the US, have called for Lai’s immediate release, saying the trial is politically motivated under a years-long national security crackdown in the China-ruled financial hub.
He has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,500 days since December 2020.
China Opposes Interference
Liu Pengyu, the spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, said Lai had been “a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong.”
“We strongly oppose external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law,” he said.
Trump To Save Lai
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would see what he could do to help “save” detained Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, even though Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be “thrilled.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to save him,” Trump told Fox News Radio in an interview. “We’ll see what we can do … we’re going to do everything we can.”
Trump has said he would raise Lai’s case as part of negotiations with China over trade and tariffs.
US-China Tariff Truce
On Monday, the US and China extended a tariff truce for another 90 days, staving off triple-digit duties on each other’s goods. On Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said trade officials from the two sides will meet again within the next two or three months to discuss the future of the economic relationship.
(With inputs from Reuters)
