CHINA will be asked to assure Hong Kong people that the rule of law will be above politics in the post-1997 administration in the wake of the refusal by some local law firms to take on a recent libel case.
The Hong Kong Democratic Foundation (HKDF) will write to the Director of the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, Lu Ping, to ask him to issue the assurance.
A foundation member, legislator Jimmy McGregor, said solicitors needed the assurance to take politically sensitive cases, such as leading liberal Martin Lee Chu-ming's libel action against Simon Li Fook-sean, a prominent figure in the Beijing-appointed group preparing for the first post-1997 administration.
Mr McGregor said the episode had highlighted a serious weakness in the legal system that defended the rights of Hong Kong people.
''The rule of law should be paramount. This requires an independent and fearless judiciary, backed up by an independent and fearless legal profession,'' Mr McGregor said.
''Lawyers who refuse instructions because of possible offence to authority, or other vested interests, are failing their duty to their profession and to the community.
''We think that it would be very helpful to the maintenance of law in Hong Kong if Mr Lu Ping was to confirm that China not only has no objection to cases being taken which are politically sensitive, but it would also fully support the maintenance of therule of law to that extent.
