Controversy over Hong Kong government’s legal arguments for Beijing’s interpretation of NSL remains unresolved in pro-establishment camp
- City’s first justice minister Elsie Leung has written private note to friends saying she backs the judges’ decision
- Pro-Beijing heavyweight Lo Man-tuen has suggested an interpretation is ‘the only fundamental solution to the problem’
Hong Kong’s latest political showdown involving a clarification on foreign lawyers’ role in national security cases has created divisions among the pro-establishment camp, with some backing the government’s plan to seek an interpretation from Beijing and others saying the arrangement should follow local law.
The city’s first justice minister Elsie Leung Oi-sie and pro-Beijing heavyweight Lo Man-tuen led most of the debate on Wednesday, two days after Hong Kong’s chief executive asked Beijing to interpret the national security law ahead of media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s trial.
The founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper had wanted to to hire British barrister Timothy Owen, a king’s counsel, to defend him against charges of collusion with foreign forces.
But Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu took issue with the potential national security threat the overseas lawyer might pose and reached out to Beijing on Monday for a clarification, despite the approval granted by the Court of Final Appeal.
The National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee’s decision is bound to have far-reaching effects on future national security cases.
Leung, former vice-chairwoman of the Basic Law Committee, sent shock waves in political circles after it emerged that she backed the judges’ ruling and questioned the necessity of such an interpretation in a private note she shared with her friends on Monday.