Hong Kong publisher’s security trial further delayed

By KANIS LEUNG
Associated Press

HONG KONG (AP) — The national security trial of a Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher has been further postponed to September. The city is awaiting Beijing’s ruling that could effectively block Jimmy Lai from hiring a British lawyer. Lai was arrested in August 2020 during a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement. He’s fighting charges of endangering national security. Lai faces up to a life sentence if convicted under a sweeping National Security Law. His trial was originally scheduled to begin on Dec. 1. But it was already delayed earlier this month after Hong Kong leader John Lee asked China’s top legislative body to decide whether foreign lawyers who don’t normally practice in Hong Kong could be involved for national security cases.