A member of the Basic Law Committee said yesterday it was up to the SAR Government whether it allowed an academic convicted in China of spying to return to Hong Kong, since the judgment of the mainland court was not binding in the SAR.
Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee, dean of the faculty of law at the University of Hong Kong, said the Tung administration could allow Li Shaomin back into Hong Kong without violating the mainland deportation order against him. Li, a City University professor, is expected to be deported from the mainland soon after being convicted of spying for Taiwan.
'It's up to Hong Kong to decide for itself . . . the judgment of the mainland court is not directly binding on Hong Kong,' Professor Chen said, adding that Chinese laws were rarely applicable to Hong Kong.
On Monday, City University President Chang Hsin-kang appealed to the Government for help to determine whether Li should be allowed to continue teaching in the SAR.
But non-affiliated lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, representing the legal profession, said Li's employment situation was a matter for Professor Chang to consider, not the Government. She said the university needed to examine if Li had done anything wrong academically and whether there were any problems with his conduct. If so, a disciplinary hearing should be held.
A Security Bureau spokesman said he would not comment on individual cases.
