(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he would like to see Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong's jailed media tycoon released, according to Reuters.

Lai was arrested in August, 2020.

Why was Jimmy Lai arrested?

He faces two charges of "conspiracy to collude with foreign forces" under Hong Kong's national security law, which Beijing introduced following the large and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. The charges stem from his pro-democracy activism and the critical stance of his now-shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily, against the Chinese government. Prosecutors claim he encouraged anti-government protests and urged foreign countries to sanction Hong Kong and China.

Judges concluded hearing evidence and legal arguments from both sides in August this year, marking a key stage in the extensive trial that began in December 2023. According to AFP, Judge Esther Toh stated, "We will inform the parties in good time" regarding when the verdict will be announced."

The defence stated that Lai had been going through heart "palpitations" and had an incident where he felt as if he were "collapsing". After being prescribed medication and fitted with a heart rate monitor, the tycoon continued attending hearings without showing visible discomfort.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. If convicted under Hong Kong's national security law, he faces a potential life sentence, according to Reuters.

Who is Jimmy Lai?

Having fled China for then-British Hong Kong as a child in the 1950s, Lai gradually built a vast business empire over the following decades. His ventures included the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

Lai was celebrated as one of Hong Kong's most notable rags-to-riches figures prior to facing a national security trial. He stood out as one of the rare members of Hong Kong's business elite who openly criticised the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which assumed control of the city in 1997, and actively supported the pro-democracy movement.

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Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute in the UK, noted that Lai's activism made him a likely target for legal action.

"From Beijing's perspective, Jimmy Lai stands out as he is the highest profile and [most] persistent tycoon who used his fortune to support the democracy movement in Hong Kong, and thus challenges the authority of the CCP. To them, this makes Lai a traitor who must be severely punished,” Al-Jazeera quoted Tsang as saying, adding that the Chinese authorities consider Lai must be rebuked in a“high-profile way to scare others from following the same path”.

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Meanwhile, the Hong Kong government stated that Lai's case is being“handled strictly on the basis of evidence and in accordance with the law", and described criticism of the trial as a“smear campaign". The authorities have also cautioned that commenting on the case could be regarded as“an attempt to interfere with the court to exercise judicial power independently” and could“constitute perverting the court of justice.”

Hong Kong officials have repeatedly defended the national security law against criticism from Western governments and human rights organisations, maintaining that the law was necessary to restore peace and stability to the former British colony after the 2019 protests turned violent.

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