🍝 Today's Sitdown: Rain warning delays landmark trial of Hong Kong's rebel mogul Jimmy Lai
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Rain warning delays landmark trial of Hong Kong's rebel mogul Jimmy Lai
Date: 8/15/2025 Original Source: BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm2z7497yko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
TONY SAYS:
So what's the story here? Hailed by some as a hero and scorned by others as a traitor, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stage of his national security trial.
Closing arguments were scheduled to start on Thursday for Lai, who is accused of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law.
But the hearing has now been postponed until Monday. It was first delayed for a day as a typhoon swept through Hong Kong.
On Friday, a judge called for another adjournment so that a medical device could be installed to monitor Lai's heart. Lai's lawyers and his son Sebastien have raised concerns over his deteriorating health over the past year.
The 77-year-old was noticeably thinner when he appeared in court on Friday.
His trial has drawn international attention, with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calling for the release of Lai - who is a British citizen.
US President Donald Trump had earlier said he would do "everything [he] can" to save Jimmy Lai.
Lai has been detained since December 2020 and faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he is convicted.
Critics say Lai's case shows how Hong Kong's legal system has been weaponised to silence political opposition.
Lai has been a persistent thorn in China's side. Unlike other tycoons who rose to the top in Hong Kong, Mr Lai became one of the fiercest critics of the Chinese state and a leading figure advocating democracy in the former British territory.
"I'm a born rebel," he told the BBC in an interview in 2020, hours before he was charged. "I have a very rebellious character."
He is the most prominent person charged under the controversial national security law which China introduced in 2020, in response to massive protests which erupted in Hong Kong the year before.
The legislation criminalises anything considered to be subversion or secession, among other things.
Beijing says the national security law is necessary to maintain stability in Hong Kong but critics say it has effec What can I tell ya?
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