Hong Kong justice minister confirms department advised official who barred activist Lau Siu-lai from contesting Legco by-election
- Teresa Cheng dodges question of whether she was personally involved in drafting guidance
- Lawmaker Ted Hui thrown out of meeting after seeking no-confidence motion against justice secretary over handling of matter
Hong Kong’s Department of Justice disclosed on Monday that it had given legal advice to an electoral official who eventually decided to disqualify a pro-democracy activist from running in the coming by-election.
Without referring to the candidate, Lau Siu-lai, by name, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah confirmed that the department had “collectively” provided a legal opinion to the returning officer for Kowloon West constituency, but dodged the question of whether she was personally involved in drafting the guidance.
“Of course the secretary for justice is the head of the department, so we handed the legal advice to the returning officer collectively,” Cheng told lawmakers during a legal panel meeting on Monday, in response to a question from democratic lawmaker Ted Hui Chi-fung.
“I shall stress that it’s only our legal opinion,” Cheng said, noting that “the final decision” on whether to disqualify someone or not rested with the returning officer “applying the law based on relevant facts”.
Cheng’s revelation confirmed an earlier report by the Post that the justice department had given legal advice in disqualifying Lau, thus stoking concerns among the government’s critics about the neutrality of electoral officials.
The minister explained that the department was the government’s legal adviser, so it would provide such advice when required by returning officers.
