HK court delays trial of pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai

Wife of Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai, Teresa Lai (left0 and daughter Jade Lai arriving at the High Court ahead of his trial in Hong Kong, on Dec. 1, 2022. - AP

HONG KONG (AFP): Jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai's trial under Hong Kong's national security law was delayed Thursday (Dec1) as the government asked Beijing to bar Lai from being represented by a British lawyer.

Lai and several executives from the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper are being prosecuted for "colluding with foreign forces", an offence under the law imposed on the city after huge and sometimes violent protests in 2019.