With court now adjourned, we'll be pausing this live page.

Here's a quick recap of what happened in today's brief hearing:

• Jimmy Lai, one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy icons, had appeared in court for closing arguments in his landmark trial – the hearing was delayed a day because of torrential rain that hit the city on Thursday
• The 77-year-old has been accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition. He could face life in prison if convicted
• Lai looked noticeably thinner as he entered court. Shortly after, the hearing was again adjourned due to concerns regarding his health, among them his heart issues
• Lai's lawyers said he would be willing to wear a Holter monitor to track his heart's rhythm, contrary to claims made by the prosecution, they added. A judge called for an adjournment until Monday for medical staff to install the device
• Lai, who is a UK citizen, has been held in solitary confinement since December 2020
• He is among hundreds of activists, lawmakers and protesters that have been detained since Beijing imposed a controversial national security law in 2020

Martin Yip
BBC News Chinese, in Hong Kong

The court began with a discussion about Lai’s health before it decided to adjourn until next Monday.

Lai is said to have heart problems and his lawyers have said his health had deteriorated since being in prison.

One of the three judges on today's panel said they were not comfortable to proceed with the trial unless Lai's health is monitored, and said they would need medical staff to install a Holter monitor on Lai.

An online medical portal says a Holter monitor is "a small, wearable device that records the heart's rhythm", which is usually used to spot irregular heartbeats.

Today's court case has now been adjourned until Monday, due to concerns over the 77-year-old Lai's health.

Lai's family and legal team have over the past few years consistently raised concerns about his health, pointing to recent court appearances where he looked visibly thinner.

Lai has been held in detention since December 2020 and is already serving prison sentences for a range of other offences for his alleged role in pro-democracy protests in 2019.

His international legal team said his living conditions "pose a grave risk to his physical and mental health". His life may even be at risk, they warned, pointing to his age and diabetes.

But the Hong Kong government has accused Lai's lawyers of "unreasonably smearing" the prison conditions of the tycoon.

And the Hong Kong lawyers representing Lai said he was receiving "appropriate medical attention" to his health, including for his diabetes.

“He has access to daylight through the windows in the corridor outside his cell, albeit he cannot see the sky. He exercises for an hour every day in a secure area," said the Robertsons law firm last September.

The picture below, taken in 2023, is the last time Jimmy Lai was pictured - seen here wearing shorts and sandals and accompanied by two guards in Hong Kong's Stanley Prison.

Image source, AP Photo/Louise Delmotte

On Wednesday, a day before the hearing was scheduled to begin, Hong Kong authorities issued a statement to slam "smear campaigns" by "external forces" and so-called "anti-China media companies" in relation to the trial.

No one should be commenting on the case in a way that interferes with the court's independent adjudication, a governnment spokesperson said.

The spokesman also said that Lai, who is held in solitary confinement, had himself requested for this arrangement.

Danny Vincent
Reporting from court

We're now hearing that the case has been adjourned till Monday, due to concerns regarding Lai’s health.

The court is being told that Lai does not have all of his required medicine and has requested equipment to monitor his health in prison.

Martin Yip
BBC News Chinese, in Hong Kong

Earlier we reported that the 77-year-old Lai's lawyers had said he was willing to wear a Holter monitor, which tracks the heart’s rhythm, if provided – contrary to claims made by the prosecution. They also said Lai didn’t want to delay the process of the final submission because of his health condition.

The 77-year-old suffers from diabetes, and his legal team earlier said his health was deteriorating due to prolonged solitary confinement.

Danny Vincent
Reporting from court

Jimmy Lai looked noticeably thinner as he entered court. He waved to supporters and family members from behind a glass panel and requested for headphones in order to listen to proceedings.

Lai's legal team have raised concerns regarding his health. The court heard that the 77-year-old had experienced heart palpitations while in prison and in one incident felt he would “collapse”. They said these episodes were more likely to occur when Lai was fatigued.

They added that Lai did not want undue attention to be given to his health during proceedings. The court heard that a professional medical team is on standby in case any medical treatment is needed.

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump had earlier on Thursday said that he would "do everything [he] can to save" Jimmny Lai, in an interview with Fox News.

"We'll see what we can do," he said, adding that Lai at 77 "was not a young guy".

The US president had earlier said he would bring up Lai's case in trade negotiations with Beijing.

Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for China's embassy in Washington, said Beijing "strongly opposes external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law”, according to Reuters.

Liu described Lai as "a key orchestrator and participant in anti-China, destabilising activities in Hong Kong”.

The hearing has begun, with both sides expected to deliver closing arguments in Lai's high-stakes case shortly.

We'll bring you the latest as we get them. Stay with us.

Image source, Getty Images

Prosecutors have accused Lai of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious material through his newspaper Apple Daily.

One such example of collusion, they argued, was when Lai met former US vice president Mike Pence and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo in July 2019 - as the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong were heating up.

Lai later testified that he "would not dare to ask the vice president to do anything". "I would just relay to him what happened in Hong Kong when he asked me," he said.

Prosecutors also accused Lai of having links to an advocacy group which lobbied countries to impose sanctions on China and Hong Kong. But a key prosecution witness linked to the advocacy group said he had never met or contacted Lai, according to a Reuters report.

Prosecutors also accused Lai and some Apple Daily staff of publishing seditious material - an offence under a separate colonial-era law. Lai said he rarely gave coverage directions to the newsroom.

Image source, Getty Images

Beijing introduced the controversial national security law in Hong Kong in 2020, in response to pro-democracy protests that had erupted the year before.

The law criminalises secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. These offences are punishable with a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The law also contains provisions allowing some trials to be heard behind closed doors; giving Beijing power over how the law should be interpreted; and letting some cases be tried in mainland China.

Critics have called it "the end of Hong Kong" and say it has created a climate of fear in the city.

But Beijing and Hong Kong authorities argue the law is necessary to maintain stability and deny it has weakened autonomy.

More than 300 people - protesters, pro-democracy politicians and journalists - have been arrested under the law.

Jimmy Lai is arguably the most prominent person to be charged with violating it so far.

Read more about the national security law.

Image source, Getty Images

Jimmy Lai was born in 1947 in Guangzhou, a city in southern China, to a wealthy family that lost everything when the communists took power two years later.

He was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China, arriving in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat.

While working odd jobs and knitting in a small clothing shop, he taught himself English. He went from a menial role to eventually founding a multi-million dollar empire including the international clothing brand Giordano.

When China sent in tanks to crush pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989, Lai began a new journey as a democracy activist, as well as an entrepreneur.

He wrote columns criticising the Tiananmen Square massacre and launched pro-democracy titles like Next Magazine and tabloid paper Apple Daily.

Many in Hong Kong hailed him as a defender of freedom though others in the mainland viewed him as a "traitor".

Read more about Jimmy Lai's life here.

A court in Hong Kong is set to begin hearing closing arguments from prosecution and defence lawyers in the national security case against Jimmy Lai, one of the city's most influential pro-democracy figures.

The 77-year-old has been accused of collusion with foreign forces and sedition - and could face life in jail if found guilty.

He is one of hundreds of activists, lawmakers and protesters that have been detained since Beijing imposed a controversial National Security Law (NSL) - though he is arguably the most prominent person to be charged with violating the NSL so far.

Beijing says the NSL is needed to quell unrest in the former British territory, but critics argue that it has been used to crush dissent.

Lai - who is a UK citizen - has been held in solitary confinement since December 2020.

Stay with us as we bring you live updates from the court.