Long-awaited verdicts in Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's national security trial will be delivered on Monday, one of the city's most closely watched rulings since its return to Chinese rule in 1997.

The case has grown into a wedge between Beijing and many Western nations, with US President Donald Trump reportedly calling for Lai's release during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October.

The Apple Daily founder has pleaded not guilty to two counts of "conspiracy to foreign collusion" under the security law, which carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as one count of "conspiracy to publish seditious publications".

Lai turned 78 last week and once described himself as a "born rebel". He loudly defied the Chinese Communist Party for years, while amas

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