Jimmy Lai's Hong Kong trial delayed over heart problems
The submissions will recommence on Monday after the court adjourned to allow Lai, 77, 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.
Some Western governments, including the United States, 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.
US President Donald Trump said in a media interview on Thursday that he would "do everything I can to save him", even though Chinese President Xi Jinping would not be "thrilled."
"We'll see what we can do ... we're going to do everything we can," Trump said.
Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, said Lai had been "a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilising 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 has said he would raise Lai's case as part of negotiations with China over trade and tariffs.
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Sydney Morning Herald
a minute ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Europe on edge as Trump risks his biggest TACO moment
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The Age
a minute ago
- The Age
Europe on edge as Trump risks his biggest TACO moment
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The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Melania Trump writes to Putin about abducted children
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Slovenian-born Melania Trump was not on the trip to Alaska on Friday. The officials would not divulge the contents of the letter other than to say it mentioned the abductions of children resulting from the war in Ukraine. The existence of the letter was not previously reported. Russia's seizure of Ukrainian children has been a deeply sensitive one for Ukraine. Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy conveyed his gratitude to the first lady on his call with Trump on Saturday, Ukraine's foreign minister said. "This is a true act of humanism," Andrii Sybiha added on X. Previously Moscow has said it has been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone. The United Nations Human Rights Office has said Russia has inflicted suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours at a US military base in Anchorage without reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, has raised the plight of children in Ukraine and Russia in a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, two White House officials say. President Trump hand-delivered the letter to Putin during their summit talks in Alaska, the officials told Reuters. Slovenian-born Melania Trump was not on the trip to Alaska on Friday. The officials would not divulge the contents of the letter other than to say it mentioned the abductions of children resulting from the war in Ukraine. The existence of the letter was not previously reported. Russia's seizure of Ukrainian children has been a deeply sensitive one for Ukraine. Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy conveyed his gratitude to the first lady on his call with Trump on Saturday, Ukraine's foreign minister said. "This is a true act of humanism," Andrii Sybiha added on X. Previously Moscow has said it has been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone. The United Nations Human Rights Office has said Russia has inflicted suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours at a US military base in Anchorage without reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine. US President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, has raised the plight of children in Ukraine and Russia in a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, two White House officials say. President Trump hand-delivered the letter to Putin during their summit talks in Alaska, the officials told Reuters. Slovenian-born Melania Trump was not on the trip to Alaska on Friday. The officials would not divulge the contents of the letter other than to say it mentioned the abductions of children resulting from the war in Ukraine. The existence of the letter was not previously reported. Russia's seizure of Ukrainian children has been a deeply sensitive one for Ukraine. Ukraine has called the abductions of tens of thousands of its children taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy conveyed his gratitude to the first lady on his call with Trump on Saturday, Ukraine's foreign minister said. "This is a true act of humanism," Andrii Sybiha added on X. Previously Moscow has said it has been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone. The United Nations Human Rights Office has said Russia has inflicted suffering on millions of Ukrainian children and violated their rights since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Trump and Putin met for nearly three hours at a US military base in Anchorage without reaching a ceasefire deal in the war in Ukraine.
