Exclusive | Hong Kong’s justice minister after domestic national security law: I’ll go where I’m welcome, like the Middle East, not the West
- Secretary for Justice Paul Lam says government can invite more people to Hong Kong to assuage any fears about the city’s legal system
- Lam will visit several Middle East countries next month to strengthen exchange and cooperation between local legal professionals and their counterparts
Hong Kong’s justice minister will visit the Middle East next month but has no plans for now to visit the West to assuage any fears about the city’s legal system, as he cited concerns over personal safety and whether he will be given a fair hearing.
Lam told the Post in an interview that he currently had no plans to visit the US – where he said he might not be welcomed – and other Western countries in countering the opposing views over the new law, which bans five new types of offences.
“I want to tell the true Hong Kong story, which is a good Hong Kong story. It’s not political propaganda. But it’s subject to two very important preconditions,” Lam said.
“The first issue is safety. It’s not my personal safety. It also concerns the safety of my colleagues who will go with me. The second point is that I need to ascertain whether I will be given a fair and reasonable opportunity to say what I wish to say.”