Hong Kong should step up co-operation with Beijing and Guangdong over legal reform
It was interesting to read your report in which Zheng E , head of Guangdong Higher People's Court, described the province's judicial system as an outdated Soviet-style model that treated the courts as just another government agency.
He referred to the new pilot schemes in nearby Foshan and Shenzhen's Futian district, where judges are allowed to rule on their own cses without requiring guidance from their superiors.
If these pilot schemes develop successfully, they would be a bold step in modifying Guangdong's judicial system to meet the challenges of the global economy.
It is an opportune time for this to happen in view of the quickening pace of Hong Kong's economic integration with the Pearl River Delta cities and elsewhere on the mainland.
He said that he was determined to restore the credibility of judges and to "uphold the rule of law".
He also said judges had to try their best to ensure justice was done and must be independent of government.
They must work with colleagues in other courts to "overcome regional and departmental protectionism".
Since he took office last year, Hong Kong's Secretary for Justice Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung, has been stressing the importance of the rule of law as a fundamental factor in Hong Kong's "one country, two systems". He has said that it spans the gamut of what we stand for, in the past, present, and the future.
Major changes will not happen overnight.
We in Hong Kong should be patiently committed to promoting the opening and reform of China's legal and judicial systems, and the rule of law with consistency and transparency.
It would be timely, and not too early, for the Hong Kong administration to step up co-operation with the central government and Guangdong authorities to enhance the rule of law environment in Qianhai , Shenzhen's new financial centre.
In the long run it will be highly beneficial to both the Hong Kong SAR and the Pearl River Delta region in terms of mutual economic and social development.
