Hong Kong chief points warning to territory’s high authorized physique | Civil Rights Information

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said the government could not intervene in the bar association after her boss criticized the detention of democracy activists.

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned that the government could intervene in the bar association, the top legal entity in the territory, after her boss criticized the detention of pro-democracy politicians earlier this month.

On Sunday, the Chinese representative office in Hong Kong described the chairman of the bar association, Paul Harris, as an “anti-China politician” after speaking out against the detention of activists and politicians.

At her weekly press conference on Tuesday, Lam said that while Hong Kong respects freedom of expression, there are limits.

“At this time, I see no reason for the government to intervene in the affairs of the Hong Kong Bar Association,” said Lam.

“But if there are cases or complaints that the bar association is not acting in accordance with Hong Kong law, the government will of course be put into action.”

Harris had questioned the sentences of media tycoon Jimmy Lai and others for attending an unauthorized gathering during anti-government demonstrations in 2019 and also defended the right to peaceful protest.

Harris had argued that peaceful demonstrations in the city remain legal and that such demonstrations serve as a conduit for people to express their grievances. Earlier this year, he also called for changes to national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong in June last year.

Tiananmen commemoration in question

In response, the Liaison Office accused him of “being an anti-Chinese politician with close foreign ties” and asked how he could protect the rule of law in the former British colony if he continued to serve as chairman.

Given the attorney’s “legal powers”, the principle of “patriots who rule Hong Kong” should be respected, the spokesman said. China previously called Harris “anti-communist” after calling for changes to the security law.

Beijing is in the process of overhauling the Hong Kong electoral system to ensure that only people it says are “patriots” can run for office.

Despite threats from the Hong Kong government, thousands of people gathered in the city last year to remember the victims of the mass murders on Tiananmen Square in 1989 [File: Vincent Yu/AP]When asked whether an annual vigil to mark the June 4th anniversary of crackdown on democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989 would violate the national security law, Lam said it was important to only the Communist Party Respect China (CCP).

Hong Kong has been the only place in China for years where the crackdown on Tiananmen Square has been publicly remembered

“This year marks the 100th anniversary of the CCP,” said Lam. “Everyone under the CCP’s leadership sees our country’s economic boom and people’s happy lives in these decades,” said Lam.

“Respecting our country’s government is our attitude.”

The CCP celebrates its 100th anniversary in July.

On Monday, the Civil Human Rights Front, the organizer of an annual rally in Hong Kong on July 1, marking the date of the city’s return to Chinese rule in 1997, announced that the police had asked them to provide details of their finances Explain other activities that raise concern that the protest may not take place this year.

Lam refused to comment, but cited Justice Minister Teresa Cheng’s statement in which she said that rights and freedoms in Hong Kong “are not unlimited”.

The city’s executive ended her press conference by announcing that the second reading for the city’s election review law is due for a second reading on May 26th.