THE president of LawAsia, the law association covering the Asia-Pacific region, yesterday said reports that barrister and Democratic Party chairman Martin Lee Chu-ming was being barred from the organisation's biennial conference in Beijing had 'grave ramifications'.
The trip would have been Mr Lee's first to Beijing since the 1989 massacre.
Although the August 16-20 conference is conducted by LawAsia, organisation has been delegated to the China Law Society. The China News Service quoted its chairman Zhou Yu as saying of Mr Lee 'there is no place for people like him'.
The report said Mr Lee was barred because he was a 'core member' of the 'subversive' Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement in China. The apparent ban comes despite Mr Lee having been formally invited by letter by Mr Zhou in March.
LawAsia president Param Cumaraswamy said he would speak to the China Law Society before deciding his response.
Solicitor-General Daniel Fung Wah-kin, who would lead a government delegation, said the ban was 'a matter for LawAsia and the Chinese authorities'.