Hong Kong amends law to limit foreign lawyers in some cases
1 year, 7 months ago

Hong Kong amends law to limit foreign lawyers in some cases

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong lawmakers on Wednesday passed an amendment to a law granting the city’s leader the power to bar overseas lawyers from handling national security cases, following a high-profile row sparked by a pro-democracy Hong Kong publisher’s hiring of a British lawyer. Hours after Hong Kong’s top court in November approved Lai’s choice of lawyer, city leader John Lee asked Beijing to decide whether foreign lawyers should be allowed to work on national security cases. While China’s top legislative body didn’t directly rule on whether these lawyers could handle such cases, it said the city’s leader and committee for safeguarding national security had the power to decide the matter. In proposing the amendment, the government said the changes would “effectively implement the spirit of the interpretation” of the law and address potential national security risks associated with overseas lawyers handling such cases.

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History of this topic

Hong Kong court edges closer to sentencing democracy activists involved in unofficial primary
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Hong Kong court edges closer to sentencing democracy activists involved in unofficial primary

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court on Tuesday began mitigation hearings for prominent pro-democracy activists who were convicted under a national security law and now face up to life in prison. The judges wrote in their verdict last month that Tai had laid out plans to block city budgets by acquiring a legislative majority, calling it a “constitutional weapon …

Hong Kong hits back as UK judge says rule of law ‘profoundly compromised’
6 months, 1 week ago

Hong Kong hits back as UK judge says rule of law ‘profoundly compromised’

Al Jazeera  

Hong Kong has hit back at a British judge who announced his resignation from the territory’s top court last week and expressed concern that the rule of law was in danger following the landmark conviction of 47 pro-democracy politicians and activists. Jonathan Sumption, one of two British judges who resigned from the Court of Final Appeal last week, wrote in …

Hong Kong court convicts 14 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest national security case
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Hong Kong court convicts 14 pro-democracy activists in the city's biggest national security case

The Hindu  

A Hong Kong court on May 30 convicted 14 pro-democracy activists in the city’s biggest national security case under a law imposed by Beijing that has all but wiped out public dissent. Prosecutors had accused them of attempting to paralyze Hong Kong’s government and topple the city’s leader by securing the legislative majority necessary to indiscriminately veto budgets. They were …

Hong Kong begins work on its own National Security Law, years after a similar law crushed dissent
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Hong Kong begins work on its own National Security Law, years after a similar law crushed dissent

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong began public consultation on a local National Security Law on Tuesday, more than three years after Beijing imposed a similar law that has all but wiped out dissent in the semi-autonomous city. Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law, calls for the city to enact a national security law, but it’s been delayed for decades because …

HK judiciary 'will not yield' to threats in national security cases
11 months ago

HK judiciary 'will not yield' to threats in national security cases

China Daily  

Andrew Cheung Kui-nung, chief justice of the Court of Final Appeal, inspects a Ceremonial Guard mounted by the Hong Kong Police Force at Edinburgh Place during the Ceremonial Opening of Legal Year 2024. The Hong Kong judiciary will not yield to any pressure or threats of any kind in national security cases as in any other type of cases, the …

Hong Kong judges propose a further delay in the trial of activist publisher Jimmy Lai
1 year, 4 months ago

Hong Kong judges propose a further delay in the trial of activist publisher Jimmy Lai

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong judges on Friday proposed a new delay until December in the trial of a prominent activist publisher who was arrested in August 2020 under a sweeping Beijing-imposed national security law. His trial, originally scheduled to begin last December, had already been delayed by judges until September while the Hong Kong government appealed to Beijing to …

Forum highlights Hong Kong's business environment advantages under rule of law
1 year, 5 months ago

Forum highlights Hong Kong's business environment advantages under rule of law

China Daily  

HONG KONG -- A legal forum was held in Hong Kong on Tuesday with a focus on how the rule of law has brought about a superior business environment for Hong Kong. John Lee, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, said in his address that under the principle of "one country, two systems," Hong Kong enjoys a …

Safeguarding national security is a must: Commissioner's office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR
1 year, 5 months ago

Safeguarding national security is a must: Commissioner's office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR

China Daily  

HONG KONG -- The Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Thursday strongly disapproved and firmly rejected irresponsible comments on Hong Kong police's handling of anti-China forces made by some Western politicians. In response to the comments made by the Canadian foreign ministry, the high representative of the European Union for foreign …

Hong Kong's law enforcement brooks no vilification: Commissioner's office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR
1 year, 5 months ago

Hong Kong's law enforcement brooks no vilification: Commissioner's office of Chinese Foreign Ministry in HKSAR

China Daily  

HONG KONG -- The spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Tuesday strongly disapproved and firmly rejected the irresponsible comments made by politicians from the US State Department, some congressional organizations, the US Consulate General in Hong Kong, and the British foreign secretary. They smeared Hong Kong police's effort …

UK says raised Jimmy Lai security law case with China
1 year, 6 months ago

UK says raised Jimmy Lai security law case with China

Al Jazeera  

The Hong Kong media tycoon has been in jail since December 2020 and faces a long-delayed security law trial in September. The UK report, which covers the six months until December 31, 2022, noted that in November, Hong Kong’s highest court ruled UK British barrister Timothy Owen could join Lai’s defence team. Those facing national security charges no longer have …

Hong Kong court dismisses pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s legal bid to fight for UK lawyer
1 year, 7 months ago

Hong Kong court dismisses pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai’s legal bid to fight for UK lawyer

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — A Hong Kong court rejected an activist publisher’s latest effort Friday to use a British lawyer to defend him against national security charges as Beijing tries to crush a pro-democracy movement. In November, the city’s top court approved Lai hiring veteran lawyer Timothy Owen for the case, but the city’s national security authorities blocked that. Lai and …

2022 Was the Year Hong Kong’s Rule of Law Died
1 year, 11 months ago

2022 Was the Year Hong Kong’s Rule of Law Died

The Diplomat  

On the penultimate day of 2022, the Chinese Communist Party regime drove a dagger through the heart of Hong Kong’s legal system, shredding whatever was left of judicial independence. The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress in Beijing issued an interpretation of Hong Kong’s National Security Law that hands the city’s chief executive the power to overturn court decisions …

Lawyers for a jailed Hong Kong publisher ask to meet the British prime minister
1 year, 11 months ago

Lawyers for a jailed Hong Kong publisher ask to meet the British prime minister

NPR  

Lawyers for a jailed Hong Kong publisher ask to meet the British prime minister Enlarge this image toggle caption Kin Cheung/AP Kin Cheung/AP HONG KONG — Lawyers for a jailed Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher have asked for an urgent meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a leading member of his international legal team said Tuesday. Last month, the team …

Beijing gives Hong Kong leader more power in security cases
1 year, 11 months ago

Beijing gives Hong Kong leader more power in security cases

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — 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. Its decision could overturn an earlier ruling by Hong Kong’s top court …

Hong Kong publisher’s security trial further delayed
2 years ago

Hong Kong publisher’s security trial further delayed

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — The national security trial of a Hong Kong pro-democracy publisher was further postponed Tuesday to next September as the city awaits Beijing’s ruling that could effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer. His high-profile trial, which was originally scheduled to begin on Dec. 1, was already delayed earlier this month after Hong Kong leader John …

Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed
2 years ago

Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — The trial of a Hong Kong newspaper publisher who was arrested in a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement was postponed Thursday after the territory’s leader asked China to effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer. The Hong Kong government objected after judges on Monday approved Lai’s plan to hire Timothy Owen, a veteran human …

Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed
2 years ago

Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed

LA Times  

The trial of a Hong Kong newspaper publisher who was arrested in a crackdown on the city’s pro-democracy movement was postponed Thursday after the territory’s leader asked China to essentially block him from hiring a British defense lawyer. The Hong Kong government objected after judges Monday approved Lai’s plan to hire Timothy Owen, a veteran human rights lawyer. Chief Executive …

Hong Kong’s courts in firing line as Beijing rewrites rulebook
2 years ago

Hong Kong’s courts in firing line as Beijing rewrites rulebook

Al Jazeera  

The case against Jimmy Lai has exposed tensions between the city’s common law system and Beijing’s tightening control. Now the independence of Hong Kong’s British-inherited judiciary, ostensibly guaranteed under a system known as “one country, two systems”, is under renewed scrutiny as China’s Communist Party looks set to rewrite the rules for the upcoming national security trial of a newspaper …

HK social groups back call to clarify overseas lawyers' status
2 years ago

HK social groups back call to clarify overseas lawyers' status

China Daily  

Photo taken on July 14, 2020 shows the Golden Bauhinia Square in South China's Hong Kong. Various civil service and business groups in Hong Kong threw their weight behind the Hong Kong government's request for the standing committee of the nation's top legislature to clarify conditions for overseas lawyers to engage in national security cases in the city. They are …

Chinese gov't spokesperson stresses enforcement of HKSAR national security law
2 years ago

Chinese gov't spokesperson stresses enforcement of HKSAR national security law

China Daily  

BEIJING -- It is imperative to fully and faithfully enforce the law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's State Council said on Monday. In accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special …

Hong Kong asks Beijing to rule on fight over foreign lawyers
2 years ago

Hong Kong asks Beijing to rule on fight over foreign lawyers

Al Jazeera  

Hong Kong’s leader asks Beijing for help in his bid to block foreign lawyers from working on national security cases. Hong Kong’s leader John Lee has asked Beijing to rule on whether foreign lawyers can work on national security cases, after the territory’s top court rejected the government’s attempt to prevent a British barrister from representing jailed media tycoon Jimmy …

Chinese gov't spokesperson stresses enforcement of HKSAR national security law
2 years ago

Chinese gov't spokesperson stresses enforcement of HKSAR national security law

China Daily  

BEIJING -- It is imperative to fully and faithfully enforce the law on safeguarding national security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of China's State Council said on Monday. In accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special …

Hong Kong asks Beijing to step in into row over UK lawyer
2 years ago

Hong Kong asks Beijing to step in into row over UK lawyer

Associated Press  

HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s leader said on Monday he will ask Beijing to rule whether to let foreign lawyers be involved in national security cases after the city’s top court allowed a prominent pro-democracy publisher to hire a British lawyer for his upcoming trial. While the city’s secretary for justice was appealing an earlier ruling that approved Lai to …

Hong Kong's top court lets UK lawyer defend publisher Lai
2 years ago

Hong Kong's top court lets UK lawyer defend publisher Lai

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hong Kong's top court on …

Future of Hong Kong: Beijing targets independent judiciary with fierce clampdown on lawyers
3 years, 9 months ago

Future of Hong Kong: Beijing targets independent judiciary with fierce clampdown on lawyers

The Telegraph  

One young barrister, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she wanted to stay but added: “I don’t know when it will get to the point where it is unbearable for me.” Her law firm was at the forefront of political pressure, she explained. There is a very real threat that if the judges decide something is not to their …

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