Hong Kong asks Beijing to step in into row over UK lawyer

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader says he will ask Beijing to rule whether to let foreign lawyers be involved in national security cases after the city’s top court allowed a prominent pro-democracy publisher to hire a British lawyer. John Lee says his government would ask for a postponement of Jimmy Lai’s high-profile trial that was due to start Thursday. But he did not offer a timetable for the interpretation that could effectively preempt the court judgment. Lai is the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily and one of the most prominent figures in the city’s pro-democracy movement. He was arrested after Beijing imposed a tough national security law to crack down on dissent following widespread protests in 2019.