Hong Kong has one minister with a very special talent: political obliviousness. Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah’s signature political ineptitude was laid bare even before she took office, when it was first revealed that she had illegal structures at her home. Subsequently, we learned of illegal structures at three other properties she owned. Illegal structures derailed Henry Tang Ying-yen’s bid for chief executive in 2012 — what was supposed to be a political slam dunk — and unauthorised modifications to one’s home have since become widely accepted as political suicide. Timing, indeed, is not Cheng’s forte. But unfortunately, in politics, timing is everything. It was unfathomable that she was away on holiday and unavailable for comment when her department dropped a highly publicised corruption investigation into a former chief executive in December last year, without following the previous practice of seeking independent legal opinion. It is absurd that Cheng went to London while Hong Kong burns. It is not just ironic that she made a trip overseas to promote Hong Kong as a centre for dispute resolution at this time, it is almost as if Cheng was wilfully taunting us. When the city that she supposedly serves is under siege , overwhelmed by hate and hopelessness, and overrun by vigilantism, touting Hong Kong as dispute resolution centre is a slap in the face of all who have felt the impact of this crisis. Let’s not forget that Cheng played an instrumental role in creating this mess in the first place. Let’s also not forget — because Cheng has been a magnet for so many controversies — that there was also a furore over her continuing to work on international arbitration cases after commencing her government post. Cheng has undoubtedly built quite a career in arbitration and it is becoming increasingly clear that she is more interested in maintaining her profile in that field than fulfilling her duty as Hong Kong’s justice secretary. Not only is promoting Hong Kong as a centre of dispute resolution at this time absurd, it is a dereliction of duty for the justice minister to be away when the High Court handed down its judgment on the constitutionality of the government’s mask ban , which had been put in place after the chief executive invoked emergency powers. Around 5,000 people have been arrested in connection with the protests so far. The Justice Department was expected to appeal against the High Court decision, but more importantly, that decision has sparked a strong reaction from Beijing, once again putting judicial independence in Hong Kong in the spotlight. However, our justice minister is not in town, unavailable to calm already rattled nerves . Perhaps being away at the worst time benefits Cheng, the arbitrator. Time and again, Cheng seems unable to keep her private business and ambitions from becoming a debilitating factor in her public service. Even at a time of crisis for Hong Kong, Cheng chose to remain in London to receive further medical treatment for injuries sustained after being surrounded by protesters there. What does this say about her trust in Hong Kong’s health care system? It’s one thing for Cheng to not care about the latest results of a Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute’s survey that put her at the bottom — at minus 68 percentage points — of the popularity rankings of all cabinet members. Her wanton disregard for what is happening at home and her inexcusable absence are truly something else. Cheng has proven herself to be unfit, again, to be secretary for justice. A day before she started work as justice minister, she said the “prime mission” of her post was upholding the rule of law and that “one country, two systems” is “the most favourable and appropriate arrangement for Hong Kong”. For the crises she helped create and the political absurdity she embodies, our secretary for justice must go. Alice Wu is a political consultant and a former associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA