Hailed by some as a hero and scorned by others as a traitor, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is in the final stage of his national security trial. Closing arguments begin on Thursday for Lai, who is accused of colluding with foreign forces under a Beijing-imposed national security law.

Days before winning his second presidential term, Donald Trump made a bold promise: if he returned to the White House, he would free a pugnacious, self-made billionaire from a Hong Kong prison.

The Hong Kong government has strongly condemned “smear campaigns” by foreign forces and anti-China media companies in relation to the national security law trial of former newspaper boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying,