Beijing ruled Friday that Hong Kong's leader has the power to decide whether foreign lawyers can be involved in national security cases in the city — a decision that could effectively block a prominent pro-democracy publisher from hiring a British barrister for his high-profile trial.
China's top legislative body made a legal interpretation that targets overseas lawyers who do not normally practice in the city, according to China’s Xinhua news agency. Its decision could overturn an earlier ruling by Hong Kong's top court to let Jimmy Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, employ Timothy Owen to defend him against collusion charges under a Beijing-imposed National Security Law.
