Rule of law in Hong Kong needs independent-minded judiciary to survive

As we mark the 20th anniversary of the return to China, which has a very different legal system, there are fresh anxieties. The fallout from the Occupy pro-democracy protests of 2014, Beijing’s crackdown on independence advocates and abusive attacks on judges have all raised concerns.

The disappearance of five Hong Kong booksellers in 2015 and their reappearance in mainland Chinese custody shocked the community and underlined the importance of Hong Kong’s separate legal system.

Worries about the rule of law are not new. Soon after the handover, there were concerns about a failure to honour the principle of everyone being equal before the law. Newspaper tycoon Sally Aw Sian was not prosecuted in 1998, despite being named as a co-conspirator in charges brought against others. The decision not to put her on trial was justified partly on the grounds of insufficient evidence but also, controversially, on the basis that this would not be in the public interest as her company might collapse.

However, fears that the powerful would be able to escape justice have been largely dispelled by more recent cases. Former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan was jailed for 7 1/ 2 years in 2014 for accepting HK$19.7 million in bribes and misconduct in public office.