3 days ago
Hong Kong press mogul Jimmy Lai's trial paused due to his heart issues
Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The trial of Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong media mogul, was postponed for a few days due to issues with the 77-year-old's heart.
The three judges overseeing the trial said the proceedings will resume Monday with closing arguments. Lai was given medication and a Holter monitor, which tracks the heart's electrical activity. The trial had also been delayed Thursday because of torrential rain in the city.
Lai, a citizen of the United Kingdom, founded Apple Daily, a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. The tabloid has been described as anti-government, pro-democracy and anti-China. He is accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. He has been in solitary confinement since December 2020. He faces life in prison.
Prosecutors have accused the media tycoon of requesting foreign countries to engage in "hostile activities," such as imposing sanctions, against authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China.
He allegedly conspired with senior editorial staff of Apple Daily and was the "mastermind and financial supporter" of the Fight for Freedom; Stand with Hong Kong advocacy group, which lobbied for international sanctions against Hong Kong and China.
Lai denied in court that he had ever sought to influence the Hong Kong policies of other countries via his high-level contacts overseas, including former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Questioned about meetings with Pence and then-U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in 2019, Lai said the meeting with Pence was more of a briefing where he updated him and answered questions about what was going on in Hong Kong.
With Pompeo, Lai denied asking him to do anything, saying he only asked him to speak out and "to voice support for Hong Kong."
Beijing added national security laws directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution in June 2020 after a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalized subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. This gave police broad new powers and led to hundreds of arrests, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. Authorities said it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the United Nations and non-governmental organizations.
The trial has been going on since 2023, and Lai gave a 52-day testimony.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would "do everything [he] can to save" Lai, in an interview with Fox News.
"We'll see what we can do," he said, adding that Lai "was not a young guy."
Trump had said earlier that he would bring up Lai's case in trade negotiations with Beijing.
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for China's embassy in Washington, said Beijing "strongly opposes 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," the BBC reported.
Liu described Lai as "a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilizing activities in Hong Kong."
Lai has said he had always advocated against the use of violence and strictly enforced an Apple Daily editorial stance opposing independence for Hong Kong, including a hiring ban on staff supporting Hong Kong splitting from China, saying the idea was "too crazy" to even contemplate.
He said the charges alleging he was pushing for independence were a "conspiracy" to entrap him.
