Hong Kong Activist Jimmy Lai's National Security Trial Ends

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On August 28, final arguments concluded in the trial of Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old founder of Hong Kong's defunct newspaper Apple Daily. The prominent pro-democracy activist faces charges of violating the National Security Law (NSL).

Lai's case drew international attention as a symbol of the crackdown on Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement and press freedom. The trial began at the end of 2023, with closing arguments delivered on August 28.

Prolonged Detention

Lai's health has deteriorated during his four years and eight months in detention. His plight has also drawn attention from United States President Donald Trump. During his first term (2017–2021), the Trump administration frequently clashed with China over Hong Kong.

In November 2019, Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act amid escalating anti-government and anti-Chinese Communist Party protests. The law allows the US to impose sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights abuses.

*The padlocked and shut offices of the Apple Daily in Hong Kong following the shutdown. (©Sankei by Kinya Fujimoto)*

The Charges

When Lai was arrested in August 2020, he was charged under the NSL with seeking foreign government support for sanctions on China and Hong Kong.

In his testimony, Lai said he had never met Trump or received messages from him. However, in July 2019, he visited the US and met then-Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Prosecutors questioned whether he had requested sanctions during that visit.

Lai initially denied the allegation, but during the trial, he admitted proposing sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials who were suppressing the democracy movement. However, he argued that this happened before the NSL took effect in June 2020, and therefore, the law should not apply.

Trump's Statements

Trump, who had called Lai's arrest "a terrible thing," raised the possibility of securing his release in October 2024, just before he was elected to a second presidential term. On a podcast interview, when asked if he would demand Lai's release from Chinese President Xi Jinping if re-elected, Trump said, "100% I'll get him out. He'll be easy to get out."

More recently, on August 14, 2025, he also told Fox News Radio, "I'm going to do everything I can to save him."

What Trump can or will do remains unclear. Securing Lai's release is far from simple, as the Xi administration sees him as a key figure in Hong Kong's anti-China movement.

But the focus here is not on whether his release is possible — it is on Lai's mission.

Restoring Freedoms

I met Lai, a self-made entrepreneur, twice in the Apple Daily office before his imprisonment in December 2020.

When asked why he stayed in Hong Kong instead of seeking exile, he said, "I made my fortune in Hong Kong. I have responsibilities to fulfill. Leaving would be shameful."

He further explained, "I want to restore the rule of law and freedoms [that China has taken]. I've been involved in the democracy movement for decades. My life no longer belongs to me alone."

For Lai, who willingly faced imprisonment, a politically arranged release would not be his true desire, as it would not restore Hong Kong's rule of law or freedoms. Moreover, former Apple Daily executives, his former subordinates, have been prosecuted for the same offenses and remain in prison.

As one of the most recognized Hong Kong pro-democracy activists internationally, Lai spoke calmly: "My trial will reveal the current state of judicial independence in Hong Kong."

Here is the heart of Lai's mission.

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Kinya Fujimoto

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