Final arguments are set to start in the national security trial of Jimmy Lai, a 77-year-old staunch critic of China’s Communist Party.
“I’m going to do everything I can to save him. I’m going to do everything … His name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump told Fox News Radio in the US.
Trump’s comments came ahead of the closing arguments in Lai’s high-profile trial.
Due to Lai’s lawyer experiencing heart palpitations, the closing arguments, initially planned for Friday, have been deferred to Monday. This marks the second delay in as many days, after Hong Kong courts were closed due to poor weather.
Trump had previously promised to intervene on Lai’s behalf during an interview in October, shortly before his presidential election, and stated he would “100 percent get him out.”
Lai, one of the most prominent people in Hong Kong to face charges under the city’s stringent 2020 national security law, has garnered international attention with his case. He is the owner of Apple Daily, a now-closed pro-democracy newspaper.
Thank you, President Trump, for supporting Jimmy Lai at this crucial time.
“I’m going to do everything I can to save [Jimmy Lai]. I’m going to do everything…His name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do. I… pic.twitter.com/EmscQHYQmX
— #FreeJimmyLai (@SupportJimmyLai) August 14, 2025
Lai is charged with two counts of “colluding with foreign forces” and a separate charge of sedition in a national security trial that commenced in December 2023. If convicted, he faces a lifetime in prison, though he maintains his innocence.
His initial arrest occurred in 2020, shortly after Beijing implemented a national security law in Hong Kong that outlawed the city’s pro-democracy movement and designated public protests as acts of secession, subversion, and terrorism. The law was further extended in 2024 to cover additional offenses such as espionage and sabotage.
Since his arrest in 2020, Lai has been in continuous detention and is currently serving additional prison sentences for offenses including participation in a banned candlelight vigil and fraud related to a lease agreement.
According to Hong Kong Watch, he has spent over 1,600 days in solitary confinement despite his age and health issues, and has been denied his choice of legal representation and independent medical care.
A verdict in his trial is anticipated in the coming days.
