A prison van believed to be carrying Jimmy Lai arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building for the closing submissions in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Police officers stand guard at a roadblock outside the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building on the day of the closing submissions in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Members of media wait outside the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts building for the closing submissions in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Lam Yik
People queue to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts building for the closing submissions in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret

HONG KONG (Reuters) -Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was given medication and a heart monitor on Monday for the start of final submissions in a landmark national security trial after concerns over his health delayed proceedings last week.

Lai, 77, 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.

Lai's lawyer Robert Pang told the court last Friday that Lai had experienced some episodes where he felt that he was collapsing and had heart "palpitations", prompting the court to adjourn proceedings and order that he be provided with a heart monitor and medication.

Prosecutor Anthony Chau confirmed that Lai had been provided with the items on Friday and was now fit to appear in court.

Lai, noticeably thinner than when the trial began in late 2023, sat in the glass dock dressed in a white jacket and pressed his palms together in a prayer gesture several times to his family and supporters.

Addressing the court as the prosecution began its closing submissions, Chau said that Lai had acted as a "helmsman" at the Apple Daily, using the paper as a platform to advocate or request foreign countries conduct hostile activities against China, including trade embargoes.

He also argued that Lai had gone beyond calling for individual sanctions against Hong Kong and Chinese officials, and aimed to target China itself.

Chau noted that Lai had travelled to the United States in July 2019 and urged then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to sanction Chinese and Hong Kong leaders, with the Apple Daily reporting on the trip.

"We submit all these foreign connections, foreign collaboration and to show (Lai)'s unwavering intent to solicit or request SBHA (sanctions or blockades or other hostile activities) against the PRC and the HKSAR," Chau said referring to China and Hong Kong by their official names.

'ADEQUATE' CARE

Lai, a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for around 1,700 days. His son and some rights groups have expressed concern over his health, which they say is deteriorating.

Hong Kong authorities said in a statement on Friday that Lai had been provided with "adequate" medical care in custody and detailed medical examinations had found no "abnormality".

Esther Toh, one of the three judges on the bench, relayed the opinion of a medical expert who said Lai was "physically and mentally fit for court," but she said additional breaks could be provided for Lai if necessary.

Some Western governments have called for Lai's immediate release and raised concerns about the erosion of fundamental rights in the city under China-imposed national security laws. Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have said Lai is being given a fair trial.

An Australian foreign affairs spokesperson told Reuters on Monday that Canberra was "deeply concerned by Hong Kong's widespread application of national security laws to repress civil society and prosecute pro-democracy advocates ... such as Jimmy Lai".

Asked about Lai's case in a media interview last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he would "do everything I can to save him."

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Stephen Coates and Kate Mayberry)