Jimmy Lai

FORMER media mogul Jimmy Lai’s national security trial in Hong Kong entered its final phase on Friday, as prosecutors began their closing arguments in a case that threatens to drive a wedge between Beijing and a Trump administration that wants him released.

The hearing, delayed by a day because of torrential rain, offers a last chance for government lawyers to cement their portrayal of the imprisoned 77-year-old as a radical political figure, while his defense team will make a final stand to stave off what could be an effective life sentence for the democracy advocate.

Lai, wearing a pale beige windbreaker and glasses, looked older and more frail than when he appeared in court in December. He waved to the crowd in the courtroom. People in the audience, warned by judges in a new directive not to break silence, waved back and made heart signs. Prosecutors said a medical team is standing by in case Lai felt weak.

Presided over by three hand-picked national security judges, the trial is being closely watched by Western governments, which see the prosecution as politically motivated. US President Donald Trump in May said he would raise the case as part of trade talks with Beijing, while the EU and the UK have called for Lai’s release.

The Hong Kong government maintains that its judicial system is independent and has repeatedly condemned what it calls foreign interference in its internal affairs.

The outcome of the trial will be scrutinized globally as a barometer for the rule of law and civil liberties in the city, which has seen its political opposition effectively silenced since the security law was enacted in 2020.

The erosion of freedoms in Hong Kong has blurred the lines between the former British colony and mainland China, which has invited foreign efforts to strip the city of favorable treatments it has long enjoyed as a semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

In 2020, Trump cited Beijing’s increased political control of the Asian financial hub for signing an executive order to remove preferential US policies for the city. Earlier this year, the tariffs he imposed on Chinese exports applied for the first time to Hong Kong goods.

Concerns over Lai’s deteriorating health have sharpened the focus on the proceedings, with his legal team and family highlighting his weight loss and the risks posed by diabetes while in custody. He has been kept behind bars for more than 1,600 days, much of it in solitary confinement.

In a statement on Wednesday, authorities said that Lai receives appropriate medical attention and he requested to remove himself from association with other inmates.

A verdict is expected weeks or months after the closing arguments, which are scheduled to take place over eight days. Lai faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law. He has previously been found guilty of offenses tied to his activism and convicted of fraud over a lease dispute.

Over a marathon trial that began in late 2023, the prosecution has argued that Lai was the “mastermind” behind a conspiracy to incite international sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese authorities.

They cited evidence including testimony from Lai’s former colleagues and activist collaborators to contend that his newspaper, the now-defunct Apple Daily, was a tool to foment unrest and that his meetings with US officials constituted collusion with foreign forces.

After prosecutors make their case, Lai’s lawyers will cap a defense that saw the activist himself testify for 52 days. They previously argued that Lai’s discussions were opinion and analysis, not a criminal plot.

Lai and three of his companies are also charged with a colonial-era sedition offense for allegedly publishing materials that provoked hatred against the government between 2019 and 2021.

Apple Daily was the most prominent pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong, known for its strong criticism of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. It closed in June 2021 after police raided the newspaper’s offices and arrested several executives and editors, and froze the company’s assets. –BLOOMBERG