July marks five years of national security law in Hong Kong, and CBS News' Ramy Inocencio speaks with Sebastian Lai, son of pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai, about his father's condition in prison.

Hong Kong Island

Five years after the introduction of the national security law in Hong Kong, the city has experienced a marked decline in political freedoms. Authorities have disbanded the last pro-democracy party, and nearly 200 protest leaders and activists remain imprisoned. Among them is Jimmy Lai, a prominent businessman and pro-democracy figure, who has been held in solitary confinement for over four years. His son, Sebastian Lai, expressed concerns about his father's health and the fairness of his trial, noting that the environment in Hong Kong has become increasingly repressive for dissenting voices. While officials claim the city is more stable and economically recovering, the political landscape has shifted further towards Beijing, with ongoing international attention on the fate of high-profile prisoners.

How Hong Kong has changed after five years of national security law

Hong Kong's crackdown on popular anti-Beijing dissent kicked off this month, five years ago, under a new draconian national security law, as authorities began snuffing out the city's freewheeling political spirit that we reported on through much of the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Today, Hong Kong at the ground level appears peaceful but politically repressed. Weeks ago, the city's last pro-democracy party was disbanded, and close to 200 protest leaders and their peers languish in prison, including billionaire anti-Beijing businessman Jimmy Lai, known to many as Hong Kong's most famous political prisoner. I think the premise that my father will get a fair trial is a complete joke. Sebastian Lai, in self-exile in London, is his son. We are now in a new Hong Kong, where if you say something that the government doesn't like, they have a mechanism to arrest you and imprison you. Very amazing thing. We met Jimmy Lai within days of his first arrest in 2019. We have to keep our freedom. We have to keep our values. We have to keep what we have used to in our life and see what happens. Lai stands accused of using his now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, to incite anti-China passions. In the more than four years since, he's been held in solitary confinement, now aged 77, seen only by those witness to his ongoing trial. How is his health? He was visibly much skinnier, physically weaker. He's still fighting. He's still intellectually and mentally strong. President Trump has said that he 100 percent, that's a quote, wants to get your father out of Hong Kong, out of China. I mean, we're incredibly grateful. He's been in office for a few months, and there's already been, I think, 47 people released. We hope that his words turn to action and help free my father, because it's freeing him, but also, at this point, it's saving his life. And closing arguments for Jimmy Lai's trial are set to start in mid-August, but Sebastian told me that he is afraid that his father will die in prison. We've reached out to officials for comment, but no reply. But in the past, legislators have told me that the city is more stable and recovering economically, but that pivot away from the West does continue and towards Beijing.

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