Amid mounting health concerns, pro-democracy advocate and Catholic convert Jimmy Lai appeared before a Hong Kong court this week wearing a heart monitor, although a prison medical officer determined that he was “physically and mentally fit” to stand trial, according to an Aug. 18 Asia News report.
Concluding arguments for Lai’s case are being presented this week before a jury, reportedly hand-selected by the Chinese Communist Party, that will determine whether to sentence him to life in prison.
The start of the closing arguments was delayed after Lai’s lawyer said Lai was experiencing heart palpitations, as CatholicVote previously reported. Asia News reported that 77-year-old Lai, who has been in prison for almost 1,700 days, appeared in court Aug. 18 “visibly weakened by his detention” and wearing the heart monitor.
Speaking to journalists in September 2024, Lai’s son Sebastien voiced concerns over the health of his father, who is diabetic and has been subject to harsh conditions in prison. According to China Daily Asia, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government issued a statement Aug. 15 refuting claims that Lai’s treatment in jail has been inappropriate and condemning “out-of-context and fact-twisting reports” circulated by some foreign media outlets.
“During today’s open court hearing, senior counsel representing [Lai] clearly presented to the court that the correctional institutions arrange daily medical checkups for Lai and that there had been no complaints at all regarding the medical care he receives there,” a HKSAR government spokesman said, according to China Daily Asia.
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Lai, a citizen of the United Kingdom, faces charges of “conspiring with foreign forces” under the controversial 2020 Beijing National Security Law. He is the founder of the independent tabloid Apple Daily, which the Hong Kong government shut down in 2021. Lai previously covered and participated in several pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong before his arrest in December 2020.
His yearslong trial, which is finally nearing its conclusion, has garnered international attention, including from US President Donald Trump. In a radio interview with FOX News last week, Trump said he will be meeting with Xi Jinping and is going to be bringing Lai’s situation up in the conversation, and “I am going to do everything I can to save him.”
He added that he likes Lai’s son Sebastien, adding, “I love that he is fighting so hard for his father.”
Trump noted that he has heard Lai is doing “okay health-wise, not great, and we’re gonna do everything we can.”
Asia News reported that on the first day of the closing arguments, the prosecutor argued for the “conspiracy” charges against Lai “by citing [Lai’s] connections with figures linked in the US administration to get the United States to impose sanctions on Hong Kong in response to the repression of pro-democracy movements.”
“The whole thing was peppered with lengthy disquisitions on the definitions of ‘collusion’ and ‘hostile actions,’” Asia News reported, “with no intention of taking seriously the objection that almost all contacts and appeals to the international community dated back to the period before the national security law came into force.”
The closing arguments have lasted several days. The prosecution concluded its final submission Aug. 20, according to Reuters. Lai’s lawyer, Robert Pang, began his final submission the same day.
“It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights,” Pang said, according to Reuters.
Pang also said, “It is not wrong to try to persuade the government to change its policy. Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even the country, because … you can’t force someone to think in one way or another.”
According to Asia News, a verdict on Lai’s case is not expected before October.