Asking Beijing for national security law interpretation ‘healthiest way’ for legal system to develop, senior Hong Kong official says
- Such requests should be made whenever government does not ‘understand accurately or clearly’ aspects of national security law, says Horace Cheung
- Tam Yiu-chung, city’s sole delegate to National People’s Congress Standing Committee, unsure whether interpretation will be addressed this month
Deputy Secretary for Justice Horace Cheung Kwok-kwan on Saturday said such requests should be made whenever the government did not “understand accurately or clearly” aspects of the national security law.
“As long as the system is clear and everyone follows the system to handle everything, I think this is the healthiest way for the legal system to develop,” he said.
Cheung added the government was still waiting for further instruction from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on the arrangement for any possible interpretation of the security law.
City leader John Lee Ka-chiu asked the standing committee to intervene after media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying moved to hire British King’s Counsel Timothy Owen to defend him against charges of collusion with foreign forces.
The Department of Justice repeatedly asked the courts to deny the arrangement, on a range of grounds including the risk that a foreign national could learn state secrets during the trial, but the top court ruled Lai was entitled to his choice of counsel.
Lee’s request to the standing committee was backed by Beijing’s officials overseeing the city’s affairs, who said the court’s decision had violated “the legislative spirit and legal logic” of the national security law.