Closing arguments in Hong Kong tycoon national security trial begin : NPR

File – The Hong Kong Jimmy Lai media tycoon stops during an interview in Hong Kong on July 1, 2020. (AP photo / Vincent Yu, file)

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Vincent Yu / AP / AP

Hong Kong – The Hong Kong prosecutors began to close the arguments in the national security trial of the Jimmy Lai pro -democracy magic, after several delays last week.

This marks the latest stages of Lai de Lai trial, which should last 8 days. The closing arguments will be the last appearances of the Lai Court, before three national security judges make a verdict, which is planned in the coming weeks or months.

On Monday, Lai wore a white jacket and black mount glasses. He nodded and smiled at family members and supporters when entering the courtroom.

He appeared visibly thinner since the start of the trial in December 2023.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau told court that Lai had been equipped with a heart rate and prescribed medication, adding that Lai, 77, had made no complaints about his health.

Lai is accused of having violated the Hong Kong National Security Act

People are waiting to enter the West Kowloon magistrates’ courts before the closing statements of the Hong Kong militant publisher, Jimmy Lai, in Hong Kong, Thursday, August 14, 2025.

Chan long hei / AP / AP

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The Lai trial began in December 2023 after several delays and lasted far beyond the initial estimate of 80 days.

Authorities accused Lai of having used its tabloid, Apple Daily, to defend international sanctions against Hong Kong and China after Beijing imposed the National Security Act in 2020 following antigan demonstrations that broke out the previous year.

Legislation criminalizes acts of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials say that since the law entered into force, she restored stability in the territory, while criticism argues that she was used to silence dissent.

Lai pleaded not guilty of two accusations of collusion with foreign forces under the city’s national security law and a distinct accusation of sedition. He faces life prison, if he is sentenced.

In his closing arguments, Chau underlined the LAI international connections, which included American political figures.

“These collaborations are long -term and persistent,” said Chau.

Chau highlighted Lai’s trips to the United States in 2019, especially in July where he met the vice-president of the time, Mike Pence.

Lai said last November that at this meeting with Pence, he only asked the Vice-President to express his support for Hong Kong, and he did not ask the United States government to take measures against the Hong Kong and Beijing authorities. “It exceeds me,” he said.

For some, Lai is a thorn on the side of authority; to others, a hero of press freedom

Spine in the eyes of the authorities of Beijing and Hong Kong for decades, the daily newspaper of Lai was forced to close in 2021. He was a frank critic of Chinese leaders by his publications and his writings.

In his testimony last November, Lai talked about reasons to found her media empire, saying: “The more information you have, the more you know, the more free you are.”

Monday, dozens of LAI supporters gathered before the courthouse, hoping to have an overview of Lai. Among them was a man, dressed in black in the fifties, who only identified himself as Chan, citing the fear of reprisals of the government to support Lai. He told NPR that he was concerned about Lai’s health.

“Lai is an emblematic figure of Hong Kong, a symbol and a thorn in the side of those who oppose freedom, democracy, justice and conscience. Our support for him is not only to support him as an individual, it is also a question of defending these values,” he said.

Chaired by three judges of national security sorted by the authorities, the trial aroused international interest.

During the presidential campaign of last year, President Trump declared on a podcast that “100%, I’m going to take it out. It will be easy to go out.“”

Last Thursday, in what seemed to be an attenuated version of his previous commitment, Trump said in an interview on Fox News Radio that he would do everything he could.

“I didn’t say 100% I would save it. I said, 100%, I will talk about it, and I already mentioned it, and I will do everything I can to save it“He said, adding that his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping,” would not be exactly delighted “by the move.

Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for the China Embassy in Washington, called lai “A key orchestrator participating in the anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong”.

Liu criticized the “external forces” for having undermined the rule of law of Hong Kong and interfere in the internal affairs of China.