Trump Renews Pledge to “Save” Hong Kong Tycoon Jimmy Lai

United States President Donald Trump has again vowed to “do everything” to help free Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of China’s Communist Party who is on trial under the city’s sweeping national security law.

“I’m going to do everything I can to save him. I’m going to do everything … His name has already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do,” Trump told Fox News Radio.

His comments come as Lai’s marathon trial enters its final stretch. Closing arguments, set for Friday, were delayed until Monday after his lawyer reported that Lai had suffered heart palpitations, the second postponement this week, following court closures caused by severe weather.

Trump has raised Lai’s case before, most notably in October, just weeks ahead of his own election victory, when he promised he would “100 percent get him out.”

Lai is facing two charges of “colluding with foreign forces” and a separate count of sedition. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper has been behind bars since December 2020, held in solitary confinement for over 1,600 days, according to UK-based rights group Hong Kong Watch. His detention has included sentences for “fraud” over a lease agreement and for attending a banned candlelight vigil.

Human rights groups have decried the trial as politically motivated, citing Beijing’s 2020 national security law that effectively criminalised Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. Expanded in 2024 to cover espionage and sabotage, the law has been used to jail dozens of activists, journalists and politicians.

Lai’s supporters say he has been denied both independent medical care and the lawyer of his choice. With closing arguments now underway, a verdict could be handed down within days — a decision likely to test Hong Kong’s battered reputation as an open society.