New Law Society chief Stephen Hung vows to keep a low profile
Stephen Hung is determined to re-establish the standing of the organisation after predecessor's fall following his comments on white paper
The new Law Society president says he will keep a low profile as a way to re-establish the organisation's standing after his predecessor was forced to step down following a vote of no confidence.
"I am not keen on politics and I have no expertise in constitutional law," said Stephen Hung Wan-shun, a criminal lawyer, in an interview with the South China Morning Post last week.
Hung spoke a week after being elected president to replace Ambrose Lam San-keung, who resigned on August 19 after an overwhelming vote of no-confidence at an extraordinary general meeting, following his controversial remarks about Beijing's white paper on Hong Kong.
While the paper was widely seen as a threat to judicial independence, Lam, without informing the Law Society, said that he supported the views stated in the document.
"I learned a lot from the EGM," said Hung, who declined to comment on Lam's stance. "I will be willing to hear from any members on matters that are conducive to the proper running of the Law Society.
"Lawyers are like Hong Kong people, many of whom are the silent majority. But this does not mean they don't care about judicial independence," he said, noting the wide margin by which the vote was passed against Lam.
The no-confidence motion won the support of 2,392 society members with 1,478 against.