Exclusive | Hong Kong protests: organisers postpone event for top judges in Asia-Pacific region fearing ongoing unrest will affect attendance numbers

18th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific put on hold until ‘some time next year’
Postponement adds to the growing list of international events affected by the city’s political turmoil

Hong Kong protests

Gary Cheung

Published: 9:30am, 22 Oct 2019

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A conference held every two years for top judges in the Asia-Pacific region, scheduled to take place in Hong Kong early next month, has been postponed because of the ongoing social unrest in the city.

A senior legal figure told the Post the organisers decided to put the 18th Conference of Chief Justices of Asia and the Pacific on hold until some time next year as they were worried about the potential number of cancellations amid the anti-government protests that have roiled the city for more than four months.

The event was originally scheduled for November 7 and 8. Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li was to have taken part in the round-table meetings of the region’s top judges.

The postponement adds to the growing list of international events affected by the city’s political turmoil.

Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma (centre) was to have taken part in the conference. Photo: Robert Ng

The Hong Kong Tourism Board announced on October 3 that the Cyclothon, scheduled for October 13, and the Wine & Dine Festival, planned for October 31, would be called off, citing safety concerns.

In June, the board abandoned the dragon boat carnival as the protest movement erupted in Hong Kong. Other events called off include the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open in early October and golf’s Clearwater Bay Open, which was supposed to have started on Thursday.

The annual Hong Kong Squash Open, a platinum event on the world circuit and which was supposed to take place in early December, was called off about two weeks ago.

The judges’ conference is co-organised by the Hong Kong judiciary and the Judicial Section of the Law Association for Asia and the Pacific (Lawasia), a regional group of lawyers, judges, jurists and legal organisations, which advocates for the interests and concerns of the profession.

“In view of recent events and in consultation with the Judicial Section of Lawasia, the decision was taken to postpone the conference,” a spokesman for the judiciary said.

“The judiciary is identifying a suitable date in consultation with relevant parties for the event some time next year.”

The first conference was held in Penang, Malaysia in 1985. The event was last held in Hong Kong in 2007.

Retired High Court judge William Waung Sik-ying said not holding the conference in Hong Kong next month was a missed opportunity.

William Waung says a wide public discussion is needed in Hong Kong. Photo: SCMP

“We need to have a wide public discussion in Hong Kong as to our way forward,” he said. “We cannot allow our future and the future of our children and grandchildren to be in the hands of Beijing or Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.”

Johannes Chan Man-mun, a member of the Bar Council, the Bar Association’s governing body, said it was sad to learn that another major international event would be postponed.

“The situation in Hong Kong is not unique. Many Asian jurisdictions have experienced similar social unrest, and it would be a great occasion for our judiciary to learn from the experience of other jurisdictions,” said Chan, former dean of the University of Hong Kong’s faculty of law.

The ongoing political crisis was triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill which would have allowed criminal suspects to be transferred to mainland China and other jurisdictions with which the city does not have such agreements.

Separately, a spokesman for the Law Society of Hong Kong said the Lawasia Conference 2019, scheduled to be held in the city from November 5-8, would go ahead.

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