Beijing’s restraint in intervening in national security cases ‘shows Hong Kong retaining high degree of autonomy’
- City has not seen central government invoking its right to become involved in special instances, law professor tells forum
- Another expert tells same event crossfire between Britain and China over BN(O) passport holders ‘carefully calibrated at both ends’
Another expert said at the same event that the crossfire between China and Britain over granting citizenship to the city’s residents who held BN(O) passports in the wake of the legislation was “carefully calibrated at both ends”.
The Beijing-mandated law contains a provision allowing mainland China to exercise jurisdiction over cases in Hong Kong that involve “complicated situations” relating to foreign interference, serious threat to national security or when the local government cannot effectively enforce the law.
Nearly four months since its enactment, 26 Hong Kong residents, including media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and activist Agnes Chow Ting, have been arrested – all by local police.
The absence of Beijing’s involvement in cases showed that accusations the city’s degree of independence was eroding were baseless, said University of Hong Kong law Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee.