Hong Kong's leader said on Tuesday he had asked China whether its handling of the booksellers case violated the "one country, two systems" formula under which the city returned to Chinese rule, the strongest response yet from the former British colony.
Chief Executive C.Y. Leung told the Executive Council he had written a letter to Beijing asking whether mainland authorities enforced their laws across the border in Hong Kong.
Thousands marched in Hong Kong on Saturday to protest against China's detention of five booksellers whose Hong Kong shop published gossipy books about Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping, in what critics called "cross-border abductions."