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Rimsky Yuen has upheld the law as Hong Kong’s justice secretary, and deserved better treatment
Michael Chugani says the outgoing justice secretary has prioritised the rule of law during his term, standing up to protesters, police and even Beijing where needed. His critics are twisting the truth
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Will no one stand up for departing Justice Secretary Rimsky Yuen Kwok-keung? Then I will. Those who have maliciously trampled on him twist the truth to serve their political agenda.
These people have accused Yuen of everything from selling out our rule of law to doing Beijing’s bidding in securing jail terms for three young activists who incited or took part in the scaling of a security fence at government headquarters, triggering the Occupy movement.
They even falsely claim that he complied when Beijing interpreted the Basic Law, which forced local courts to oust six opposition legislators for improper oath-taking.
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The truth is Yuen in effect rebuked Beijing by saying local courts could have handled the matter on their own. Simple yet powerful words.
Perhaps his critics would have preferred he sink to their level of clownish antics. Maybe he should have protested against the interpretation by hurling bananas at mainland officials or booing the national anthem.
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Yuen’s most rabid critics, like legislator Claudia Mo Man-ching, say he appealed against the community service sentences of Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, and the suspended sentence of Alex Chow Yong-kang for political reasons. I suggest they read up on the law before making claims that expose their ignorance.
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