Closing arguments in the landmark national-security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai were postponed after his lawyer told the court the 77-year-old defendant suffered heart palpitations. Judges ordered that Lai receive prescribed medication and a Holter monitor and adjourned proceedings until Aug. 18, four years after he was first taken into custody. The delay came a day after torrential rain forced the judiciary to cancel hearings, highlighting the stop-start nature of a case that has already stretched to 147 sitting days since opening in December 2023. Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material—offences that carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The pro-democracy figure has spent more than 1,700 days behind bars, mostly in solitary confinement, and his deteriorating health has drawn heightened scrutiny. Diplomats from at least seven nations were present in court as the three-judge panel, appointed under the Beijing-imposed security law, signalled that closing submissions are expected to run for eight days once the hearing restarts, with a verdict likely months away. U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News he had raised Lai’s case with Chinese officials during ongoing trade negotiations and would "do everything I can to save him," remarks that risk adding friction to already sensitive U.S.–China ties. Hong Kong and Beijing authorities maintain that Lai is receiving a fair trial and have condemned foreign governments for interfering in the city’s judicial process.