HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s leader John Lee moved to submit legislation that will give him veto powers over the use of foreign lawyers in national security cases.

The Chief Executive’s administration filed a proposal to amend laws to the city’s Legislative Council, according to a document submitted on Monday.

The move came after jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai sought clarity last week over whether he can be represented by his Britain-based lawyer during his upcoming security trial. Lai is seen by Beijing as a ringleader behind the 2019 pro-democracy protests.

Lai’s choice of lawyer has flared into a constitutional controversy. In 2022, Mr Lee turned to Beijing for help to bar British lawyer Timothy Owen from defending Lai.

In response, the Standing Committee of China’s legislature ruled that Hong Kong courts need to get approval from the city’s chief executive before allowing an overseas-based lawyer to take part. The planned legislation would effectively make that part of Hong Kong’s law. 

Lai, 75, is one of several prominent pro-democracy activists charged under the city’s China-backed national security law, which asserts global jurisdiction for cases involving terrorism, secession, subversion and collusion with foreign powers.

Lai, the founder of Next Digital, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial was delayed to September in order to resolve the lawyer issue.

The trial has increased tensions with the former colonial power. British Foreign Office Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan met Lai’s lawyers in January, prompting a terse response from the Hong Kong government, which accused the British government of interference in its domestic affairs.

The proposed amendment will be discussed in the Legislative Council on Monday and the government plans to submit a draft of the amendments by the second quarter of 2023, local media outlet Ming Pao reported, without saying where it got the information. BLOOMBERG