https://www.scmp.com/rss/266388/feed Grenville Cross SC is a criminal justice analyst, a barrister (senior counsel), and a life senator of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP). He is a law professor, the sentencing editor of Hong Kong Cases and Archbold Hong Kong and the co-author of Sentencing in Hong Kong. He served as the director of public prosecutions from 1997 to 2009, and as vice-chairman (Senate) of the IAP from 2011 to 2023. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Grenville Cross Grenville Cross After being sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for national security offences on February 9, Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying will decide if he wishes to appeal. He may challenge his convictions and/or sentences and has about two weeks to make up his mind. Given the length of his trial (156 days), the mountain of evidence and the legal issues, it will take time for any appeal to be resolved. Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Lai’s early release. The lead... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344253/speedy-pardon-jimmy-lai-case-unlikely?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/china-opinion/article/3344253/speedy-pardon-jimmy-lai-case-unlikely?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:30:08 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross Former governor Chris Patten once said nobody ever profited from betting against Hong Kong. Anybody wagering against its “one country, two systems” policy will undoubtedly be out of pocket. Since 1997, the policy has been the city’s lodestar. While the post-reunification settlement was repeatedly challenged, most notably during the 2019 social unrest, Hong Kong has emerged stronger. The Basic Law sustained it throughout and Beijing’s support was unwavering. With national security legislation,... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3342131/those-betting-hong-kongs-bright-future-have-backed-winner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3342131/those-betting-hong-kongs-bright-future-have-backed-winner?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Feb 2026 01:30:38 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross The Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance becomes operational in Hong Kong on January 20, and will enhance child protections. It contains a mechanism for the early and effective detection of child abuse cases. It requires particular professionals to report if, during their work, they come to suspect a child has been suffering serious harm, or is at real risk of it. The acts considered serious harm include inflicting physical injury, forcing or enticing a child to participate in a sexual... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3337361/hong-kongs-new-legislators-must-strengthen-child-protection-laws?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3337361/hong-kongs-new-legislators-must-strengthen-child-protection-laws?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Dec 2025 01:30:09 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross In his seminal work Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution, the constitutional theorist A.V. Dicey discussed parliamentary sovereignty in the UK. He called Britain’s parliament “an absolutely sovereign legislature” with the “right to make or unmake any law”. Although the doctrine has since evolved, it remains integral to the country’s constitutional arrangements. Whereas the government can invite parliament to enact laws, legislators can refuse. They may, for example, conclude... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3323072/hong-kong-legislators-within-their-rights-reject-same-sex-couples-bill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3323072/hong-kong-legislators-within-their-rights-reject-same-sex-couples-bill?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Grenville Cross Grenville Cross With the enactment of Hong Kong’s national security law on June 30, 2020, acts of collusion with foreign countries to endanger national security, secession, subversion and terrorist activity were criminalised. As discussed at a recent forum to mark the law’s fifth anniversary, the “one country, two systems” policy has operated smoothly since. The national security law has been applied throughout with great restraint by the authorities, with prosecutions only resulting when absolutely... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3315295/contrary-naysayers-hong-kongs-national-security-law-working-well?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3315295/contrary-naysayers-hong-kongs-national-security-law-working-well?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 23 Jun 2025 21:30:07 +0000 On March 11, when former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte arrived at Manila airport on a flight from Hong Kong, he was arrested by prosecutors. They acted on an Interpol arrest warrant issued at the behest of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. It alleges Duterte committed “crimes against humanity” during his “war on drugs” when he was Davao City mayor and then president. The ICC, which prosecutes global crimes, became operational under the Rome Statute in 2002. The Philippines... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303216/handing-duterte-icc-marcos-stirs-philippine-hornets-nest?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/asia-opinion/article/3303216/handing-duterte-icc-marcos-stirs-philippine-hornets-nest?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Mar 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Hong Kong’s passage of a law earlier this year mandating the reporting of child abuse should greatly benefit the city’s vulnerable. By discharging one of its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the law shows Hong Kong is serious about child protection. However, there’s much more work to be done. According to statistics from the Social Welfare Department’s Child Protection Registry, child abuse cases have increased from 940 cases in 2020 to 1,457 cases in 2023. The... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3291310/hong-kong-needs-these-laws-close-child-protection-loopholes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3291310/hong-kong-needs-these-laws-close-child-protection-loopholes?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2024 01:30:08 +0000 As the national security trial of the former media magnate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying resumes in Hong Kong, his situation has been misrepresented elsewhere. A London-based international legal team, led by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, styling itself as “international counsel for Mr Jimmy Lai and Mr Sebastien Lai”, has complained about Lai’s treatment in custody. It has also sought his immediate release, even though this is legally impossible. Not only has Lai served less than half of his sentence of five... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3287077/those-sympathetic-jimmy-lai-must-stick-facts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3287077/those-sympathetic-jimmy-lai-must-stick-facts?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:30:09 +0000 When Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu delivered his third policy address, he said that “reform is a continuous process”. The address covered many areas, some law-related; he pointed to new laws and indicated legal priorities. With the enactment in March of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, the city’s obligations in this regard to the rest of the country were finally discharged. Although Hong Kong is no longer China’s Achilles’ heel when it comes to national security, that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3283927/hong-kongs-legal-system-needs-reform-stay-vibrant?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3283927/hong-kongs-legal-system-needs-reform-stay-vibrant?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Oct 2024 01:30:07 +0000 In China, as in the West, national security is a high priority. In its Article 23 legislation consultation paper, the Hong Kong government called it “the fundamental prerequisite for the survival of a state”. That Beijing has entrusted Hong Kong and Macau to enact their own is a remarkable show of faith. While Macau enacted its Article 23 legislation in 2009, Hong Kong was unable to follow suit, despite an attempt in 2003. Its constitutional obligation was not discharged, and it became China’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250801/article-23-national-security-law-hong-kong-people-have-nothing-fear?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250801/article-23-national-security-law-hong-kong-people-have-nothing-fear?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Feb 2024 01:30:11 +0000 Although many children will be celebrating Christmas, some will not. Child abuse is still rife; the Social Welfare Department reported 1,439 cases last year. Much abuse, however, goes unreported, particularly when it involves mental illness. Although the focus is invariably on children who have been physically abused, some suffer from mental disorders, which can produce unique suffering. Children with special needs, for example, those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3245510/hong-kong-alarm-bells-are-ringing-childrens-mental-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3245510/hong-kong-alarm-bells-are-ringing-childrens-mental-health?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Dec 2023 08:30:08 +0000 Since the national security law for Hong Kong was enacted in 2020, it has more than proved its worth. It has not only ensured the survival of the “one country, two systems” policy, but also restored the city’s equilibrium. Its success was such that, in 2022, President Xi Jinping made it clear that one country, two systems, which the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 envisaged lasting for 50 years, “must be adhered to over the long run”. Although the national security law is heavy on human... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241491/hong-kongs-critics-some-national-security-laws-are-more-equal-others?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241491/hong-kongs-critics-some-national-security-laws-are-more-equal-others?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 01:30:18 +0000 Since 1997, Hong Kong’s success has been underpinned by its legal system. Whereas independent prosecutors decide if there is a reasonable prospect of conviction, impartial judges preside at trials. The Basic Law guarantees the independence of judges (Article 85), and the judicial oath requires them to determine cases “without fear or favour, self-interest or deceit”. Although the judiciary has sometimes faced criticism over its handling of national security and protest-related cases, this is... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240607/us-bill-attacking-hong-kongs-rule-law-will-not-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240607/us-bill-attacking-hong-kongs-rule-law-will-not-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Nov 2023 12:30:18 +0000 On July 1, 2022, President Xi Jinping, on the 25th anniversary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, put people’s minds to rest over 2047 (when the Basic Law’s “50 years unchanged” promise is due to expire). Having highlighted how the “judiciary exercises judicial power independently” and emphasised Beijing’s support for the city “retaining its common law system”, he said the “one country, two systems” principle “must be adhered to over the long run”. This was hugely reassuring, given... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221035/hong-kongs-judges-handling-national-security-cases-are-beyond-reproach-and-us-sanctions-threat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221035/hong-kongs-judges-handling-national-security-cases-are-beyond-reproach-and-us-sanctions-threat?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 May 2023 22:15:08 +0000 In January 2019, the Law Reform Commission established its subcommittee on cybercrime. Chaired by senior counsel Derek Chan Ching-lung, it is reviewing legislation and considering how it can be strengthened. If, as many hope, it is prioritising the protection of children from online pornography, it can learn much from Britain’s experiences. In January this year, the children’s commissioner for England and Wales, Rachel de Souza, reported that young people were frequently exposed to violent... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3219011/what-hong-kong-can-learn-britain-protecting-children-online-porn?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3219011/what-hong-kong-can-learn-britain-protecting-children-online-porn?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 May 2023 00:15:08 +0000 On October 28, the Court of Appeal delivered one of its most disturbing judgments of recent times. After the secretary for justice had invoked an arcane legal procedure (“reference on a question of law”) to seek its opinion on the circumstances in which four defendants had been acquitted in three trials before two separate judges in the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal concluded that each case had “resulted in a serious miscarriage of justice”. This situation arose because the judges... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218051/how-criminal-procedure-ordinance-amendments-can-help-prevent-miscarriages-justice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218051/how-criminal-procedure-ordinance-amendments-can-help-prevent-miscarriages-justice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Apr 2023 00:15:13 +0000 Although national security laws are enacted by national parliaments, China made an exception for the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. Under their respective Basic Laws, the responsibility for enacting national security legislation was vested in the regions, a vivid illustration of “one country, two systems”. But although Macau enacted its national security law in 2009, within 10 years of its reunification with mainland China, Hong Kong has yet to, after nearly 26 years. Yet... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3210871/hong-kong-must-stop-testing-beijings-patience-and-enact-article-23-national-security-legislation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3210871/hong-kong-must-stop-testing-beijings-patience-and-enact-article-23-national-security-legislation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 01:15:10 +0000 On January 16, at the opening of the legal year, Hong Kong’s chief justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung said it was important that the judiciary “moves with the times”; this is indisputable. His predecessors since 1997 have always prioritised judicial transparency, and Cheung has now decided to take that commitment to a new level. He plans to establish a working group to conduct research on the guiding principles and implementation arrangements of live broadcasting of court proceedings, with a view to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3207868/allowing-cameras-hong-kong-courts-can-create-more-open-and-transparent-judiciary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3207868/allowing-cameras-hong-kong-courts-can-create-more-open-and-transparent-judiciary?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jan 2023 00:15:11 +0000 When Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said he would invite the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee to interpret the national security law for Hong Kong in relation to the admission of overseas lawyers in national security cases, there was a gnashing of teeth in some quarters. This arose after the courts, without considering national security implications, allowed media magnate Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to instruct Britain-based barrister Timothy Owen KC to represent him in his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3205436/safeguarding-national-security-npcs-interpretation-foreign-lawyers-minimalist-and-reasonable?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3205436/safeguarding-national-security-npcs-interpretation-foreign-lawyers-minimalist-and-reasonable?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Jan 2023 19:30:09 +0000 “Discrimination is not done by villains, it’s done by us,” said Vivienne Ming, the neuroscientist. Although condemned, discrimination remains prevalent, and while adults can sometimes cope, children often cannot and face lasting damage. In a city acclaimed for its quality of life, this situation is intolerable. On September 8, the UN Development Programme issued its latest Human Development Index, which surveyed 191 places in terms of human development, being knowledgeable and having a decent... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3204016/why-are-hong-kongs-young-still-bearing-brunt-prejudice-and-discrimination?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3204016/why-are-hong-kongs-young-still-bearing-brunt-prejudice-and-discrimination?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Dec 2022 08:45:12 +0000 Last year, former chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor announced that “we are formulating a legislative proposal to provide for a mandatory reporting mechanism on child abuse cases”, and this was widely welcomed. If people aware that children are being mistreated are required to report it, it can prevent abusive situations from worsening. Lam’s announcement marked the culmination of years of campaigning by child rights groups, whose advocacy was fortified by a series of avoidable tragedies... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3192241/hong-kongs-child-abuse-reporting-law-must-cast-wide-net?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3192241/hong-kongs-child-abuse-reporting-law-must-cast-wide-net?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Sep 2022 22:15:25 +0000 After the 47 suspects charged with subversion in relation to an unofficial primary election in 2020 were committed to the High Court for trial, it was revealed that the case would not be tried by a jury. This was after Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok issued a certificate on August 13, indicating that the forthcoming trial will be conducted by a three-judge panel. As contemplated by the national security law (Article 46), he decided, after a risk assessment, that a jury trial would be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3190715/why-criticism-non-jury-subversion-trial-47-hong-kong-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3190715/why-criticism-non-jury-subversion-trial-47-hong-kong-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 31 Aug 2022 22:45:15 +0000 The US Congressional-Executive Committee on China (CECC) was established in 2000, after the normalisation of trade relations with China. It purports to monitor human rights and rule of law issues in China. As China’s world role has expanded, the committee has become increasingly hostile, as its July 12 “staff research report” shows. It comprises 17 commissioners, drawn from the US Senate and House of Representatives. They include Marco Rubio, who once urged the Nobel Peace Prize Committee to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185305/hong-kongs-prosecutors-will-not-bow-intimidation-amid-threat-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3185305/hong-kongs-prosecutors-will-not-bow-intimidation-amid-threat-us?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Jul 2022 17:30:17 +0000 Although child welfare groups in Hong Kong have been campaigning ceaselessly for many years to protect the most vulnerable, child abuse refuses to go away. Yet, despite shocking revelations as to its incidence, successive governments have failed to enact the laws the situation demands. The cycle of child abuse must, however, be broken, and the statistics show why. On May 11, the Social Welfare Department disclosed that child abuse cases rose by 45 per cent to 1,367 in 2021, and this was only the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3179243/child-abuse-protection-hong-kongs-most-vulnerable-cannot-wait?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3179243/child-abuse-protection-hong-kongs-most-vulnerable-cannot-wait?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 May 2022 01:15:11 +0000 The enactment of the national security law for Hong Kong in June 2020 attracted much criticism, mostly unfair. One provision in particular, involving the choice of judges to try national security cases, irked some people. The national security law requires the chief executive to designate particular judicial officers “to handle cases concerning [an] offence endangering national security”, and some have claimed this means that only judges will be selected who can be relied on to convict. This... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3165554/judges-handling-national-security-cases-hong-kong-remain-true-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3165554/judges-handling-national-security-cases-hong-kong-remain-true-their?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Feb 2022 22:45:18 +0000 American singer Billie Eilish recently revealed that she was exposed to “abusive” pornography from the age of 11, leaving her “devastated”. The Grammy award-winner, now 20, said these experiences “destroyed” her brain, poisoned her personal relationships and gave her nightmares. Nobody, she said, explained to her that watching pornography could be harmful. Instead, she saw it as a form of sexual education. Eilish’s comments highlight the damaging effects of being exposed to pornography at a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160505/billie-eilishs-experience-harmful-effects-online-porn-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3160505/billie-eilishs-experience-harmful-effects-online-porn-should-be?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Dec 2021 01:15:16 +0000 If there was any doubt over what to prioritise in the forthcoming policy address, the latest child abuse statistics from the Social Welfare Department should provide a valuable focus. In the first quarter of this year, 279 cases were recorded, up from 166 in the same period last year, with girls the primary victims. Physical abuse accounted for 113 cases, sexual assault for 86 cases, neglect for 67 cases, psychological abuse for three cases, while 10 cases involved multiple abuse. Indeed,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145541/overdue-child-abuse-law-reforms-good-place-start-hong-kongs-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3145541/overdue-child-abuse-law-reforms-good-place-start-hong-kongs-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Aug 2021 01:15:16 +0000 Although some people have queried the renewed talk of enacting the national security laws required by the Basic Law (Article 23), the reason is there for all to see. The national security law, enacted last year, requires Hong Kong to “complete, as early as possible, legislation for safeguarding national security as stipulated in the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and shall refine relevant laws”. Whereas the national security law includes some crimes contained in Article... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3141385/article-23-when-treason-laws-still-refer-queen-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3141385/article-23-when-treason-laws-still-refer-queen-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Jul 2021 00:30:10 +0000 The proposal by Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah that legal officers in her department, who may be barristers or solicitors, should be eligible for appointment as senior counsel, or “silk”, seeks to rectify a long-standing anomaly. If a legal officer is a solicitor, he or she cannot currently apply for the rank of senior counsel, irrespective of actual practice. If, therefore, a solicitor is undertaking responsibilities at the highest level to an impeccable standard, which can and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137528/why-justice-secretarys-senior-counsel-push-has-merit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3137528/why-justice-secretarys-senior-counsel-push-has-merit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:15:00 +0000 On May 28, District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock sentenced 10 defendants to terms of imprisonment ranging from 14 to 18 months. The defendants, who included Next Media founder Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, activist Figo Chan Ho-wun and former lawmaker Leung Kwok-hung, had earlier pleaded guilty to organising an unauthorised assembly on National Day in 2019, the maximum penalty for which is five years’ imprisonment. The judge noted that the rally they organised saw petrol bombs being thrown along or near... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135489/why-those-who-threaten-hong-kongs-judges-deserve-no-mercy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3135489/why-those-who-threaten-hong-kongs-judges-deserve-no-mercy?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jun 2021 22:45:12 +0000 Good can sometimes result from even the vilest of crimes. After the murder of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in the United States in 2020, the George Floyd Justice in Policing Bill was introduced into the US House of Representatives in 2021. It seeks to combat police misconduct, excessive force and racial bias in policing, and it is an appropriate response to a crime that shocked the world. Following the convictions of a Hong Kong couple for murdering their five-year-old daughter... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130602/five-year-old-girls-murder-shows-urgent-need-hong-kong-reform-child?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3130602/five-year-old-girls-murder-shows-urgent-need-hong-kong-reform-child?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Apr 2021 22:45:10 +0000 After China revised its Criminal Procedure Law in 2013, coerced confessions, even if true, are no longer admissible at trial. This followed the exclusionary rules adopted in 2010 by the Supreme People’s Court to guide courts and provide safeguards for suspects. Wrong convictions are devastating for the individual and bring criminal justice into disrepute. Although this can happen in even the most careful of legal systems, its chances are minimised if high standards of proof are adopted, as in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127841/hong-kong-needs-compensation-law-wrongful-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3127841/hong-kong-needs-compensation-law-wrongful-imprisonment?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Apr 2021 22:00:15 +0000 In 1930, Sir Winston Churchill said: “We are with Europe, but not of it”, and this has been the view of many Britons. While resenting the European Union’s grandiose plans, they have traditionally felt great affinity with their European neighbours, whether in or out of the EU. Although, when Britain joined the EU’s predecessor in 1973, people were assured that it was only a trading bloc, its cover was blown over time. Once they realised that a “United States of Europe” was envisaged, through what... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116410/brexit-has-restored-british-sovereignty-and-given-thatcher-last?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3116410/brexit-has-restored-british-sovereignty-and-given-thatcher-last?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Jan 2021 14:30:14 +0000 If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, the child abuse laws are a vivid illustration. Although improvements have been proposed or are being considered, children continued to face great dangers throughout 2020. Real progress has been lacking, and a far greater sense of urgency is vital next year. Although, in the opening months of the year, the official figures of child abuse cases declined by a third compared to the two previous years, we cannot celebrate. In some households,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3114979/hong-kongs-child-abuse-laws-must-be-updated-matter-urgency-2021?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3114979/hong-kongs-child-abuse-laws-must-be-updated-matter-urgency-2021?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Dec 2020 09:00:14 +0000 Since 1997, the British foreign secretary has presented a report on Hong Kong to Parliament every six months. Initially, these reports were reasoned and constructive, and generally supportive of the “one country, two systems” paradigm. When problems arose, they were realistically assessed, and placed in context. With the growth, however, of anti-China sentiment in the West, this balance has disappeared and the reports have become increasingly tendentious and unreliable. On November 23, British... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3112030/why-britains-foreign-secretary-no-friend-hong-kong-and-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3112030/why-britains-foreign-secretary-no-friend-hong-kong-and-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Dec 2020 10:45:17 +0000 The Basic Law could not be clearer. It says that Hong Kong permanent residents “shall have the right to vote”. However, having the right to vote is one thing, exercising it is another, as electors living elsewhere in China know all too well. Last month, the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau said the government would proactively improve the current electoral arrangements, and implement enhancement measures at an appropriate time. It is expected, therefore, that proposals will soon be... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3108206/dont-deny-vote-hongkongers-mainland-china-because-overblown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3108206/dont-deny-vote-hongkongers-mainland-china-because-overblown?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Nov 2020 00:30:17 +0000 It is never easy being a chief justice, and some people are always unhappy with the decisions of the courts. The crescendo rises in turbulent times, with accusations of bias proliferating, often because of particular sentences. The judiciary is fortunate, however, to have somebody in Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li who is experienced and knows how to handle criticism. Although Ma has faced calls for judicial reform, he has himself always been a reformer. For example, after Ma commissioned a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3104320/heed-chief-justices-words-ease-fears-over-hong-kongs-judiciary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3104320/heed-chief-justices-words-ease-fears-over-hong-kongs-judiciary?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Oct 2020 22:45:14 +0000 The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal came into existence on July 1, 1997 and, under the Basic Law, is vested with the “power of final adjudication”. It comprises the chief justice, the three permanent judges and the non-permanent judges. A quorum of the court comprises five judges, including the chief justice, the three permanent judges and one non-permanent judge. The total number of non-permanent judges permitted by law is 30, although there are currently only 17, drawn from two lists. The... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3102390/will-national-security-law-provoke-exodus-foreign-judges-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3102390/will-national-security-law-provoke-exodus-foreign-judges-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Sep 2020 22:15:06 +0000 A notable feature of the national security law is its use of minimum sentences for particular offences, which is new for Hong Kong. Although local laws prescribe maximum sentences, the courts have, with rare exceptions, enjoyed a wide discretion when sentencing offenders. While, for example, adult offenders who commit murder face mandatory life imprisonment, and those guilty of unlawful possession of an offensive weapon in a public place face a term of imprisonment, which can be long or short,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092004/why-hong-kongs-new-national-security-law-includes-mandatory-minimum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092004/why-hong-kongs-new-national-security-law-includes-mandatory-minimum?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jul 2020 22:00:13 +0000 Countries everywhere have laws protecting national security, and the duty of citizens to safeguard their country’s interests is generally acknowledged. National security, moreover, is of such importance that it is invariably legislated for by national parliaments. It was, therefore, remarkable that when the National People’s Congress enacted the Basic Law in 1990, it authorised the future Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to “enact laws on its own” prohibiting treason, secession, sedition... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3086440/if-hong-kong-had-enacted-national-security-laws-its-own-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3086440/if-hong-kong-had-enacted-national-security-laws-its-own-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 May 2020 22:30:14 +0000 At 2300 GMT on January 31, Britain becomes the first country ever to leave the 28-nation European Union. This heralds a transition period for Britain and the EU, during which their future relationship will be negotiated, particularly in trade. Prime Minister Boris Johnson says these negotiations must conclude by December 31, meaning a no-deal Brexit if they are not, with Britain leaving on “most favoured nation” terms under World Trade Organisation rules. These are the same rules under which... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3048131/post-brexit-britain-free-pursue-global-vision-strike-trade-deals?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3048131/post-brexit-britain-free-pursue-global-vision-strike-trade-deals?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 Jan 2020 03:00:06 +0000 The festive season notwithstanding, bullying is rife in Hong Kong. The suppressed sobs of children who have endured physical, psychological or emotional abuse remain as chilling as ever. Hong Kong defines bullying as malicious and repetitive acts which harm others in situations where there is an imbalance of power. Such circumstances are all too common. Although the Commission on Children was launched in mid-2018, with a mandate to advance child interests, it has yet to advance plans to combat... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3043278/how-hong-kong-divided-protests-can-do-better-its-children-2020?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3043278/how-hong-kong-divided-protests-can-do-better-its-children-2020?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Dec 2019 23:00:16 +0000 While visiting Shanghai, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor again ruled out a general amnesty to people arrested over the civil disturbances. She was right to do so, as the idea that people who commit grave crimes should escape their just deserts is repugnant to the rule of law. Had she decided otherwise, the message would have gone out that political violence is less abhorrent than other types of violence. Although advocates of an amnesty invariably point to the one granted to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036812/hong-kong-protests-calls-amnesty-or-pardon-those-convicted-must-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3036812/hong-kong-protests-calls-amnesty-or-pardon-those-convicted-must-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Nov 2019 04:00:07 +0000 In August 2011, riots erupted in several English cities and towns, triggered by the shooting of a criminal suspect in London. There was arson and looting, homes, shops and vehicles were destroyed, five people were killed, and more than 16 citizens and 189 police officers injured. Then-prime minister David Cameron condemned the rioting as “utterly unacceptable”, adding there was “no justification for the aggression the police and the public faced, or for the damage to property”. More than 1,000... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3034055/hong-kongs-violent-protesters-should-face-full-force-law-being?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3034055/hong-kongs-violent-protesters-should-face-full-force-law-being?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Oct 2019 04:35:07 +0000 Although some people have naively claimed that the absence of violence after last Sunday’s protest rally in Causeway Bay might herald a new beginning, they are clutching at straws. Realising that the antics of their fellow activists at Hong Kong International Airport five days earlier, when two mainland visitors were beaten up and passengers maltreated, had horrified many, the organisers accepted they had to try to keep a lid on things this time. Even then, some protesters chose to round off... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3023751/carrie-lam-must-stand-her-ground-against-fanatics-who-have-hijacked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3023751/carrie-lam-must-stand-her-ground-against-fanatics-who-have-hijacked?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Aug 2019 22:45:12 +0000 Mahatma Gandhi always opposed violence, for good reason. He said that “when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent”. Over the past month, political violence has been repeatedly deployed by activists. Two sieges of the Legislative Council building resulted in injury, damage and destruction. On June 12, a police line was attacked by people brandishing sharpened metal poles, bricks and improvised weapons. And, on July 1, the legislature was invaded, with... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3017825/one-country-two-systems-under-attack-and-hong-kong-must-uphold-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3017825/one-country-two-systems-under-attack-and-hong-kong-must-uphold-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2019 22:30:09 +0000 Although Hong Kong’s greatest strength is the rule of law, it cannot be taken for granted. It has been repeatedly affronted this month, often by people who should have known far better. Although peaceful protest is all well and good, mob violence is not. On Friday, efforts were made by protesters to enforce their political demands by criminal means. By causing chaos in Admiralty and the surrounding areas, they hoped to compel Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor to capitulate to their... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015981/if-hong-kongs-extradition-bill-protesters-want-defend-rule-law-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3015981/if-hong-kongs-extradition-bill-protesters-want-defend-rule-law-they?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jun 2019 04:45:06 +0000 The Security Bureau’s proposed amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which will enable fugitives in Hong Kong to be returned on a case-by-case basis to other jurisdictions for trial, are a sensible means of resolving a long-standing problem. Because of the current vacuum, Hong Kong has become a magnet for fugitives from throughout China and beyond. Not only have convicted criminals from Macau found refuge here, but so have people accused of grave crimes in Taiwan, as well as 300... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3009141/opponents-hong-kongs-extradition-bill-are-blind-progress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3009141/opponents-hong-kongs-extradition-bill-are-blind-progress?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 May 2019 01:00:10 +0000 International No Spank Day, launched in 1998, is marked around the world on April 30. In support, the NGO Against Child Abuse held its Spank Out Day 2019 on Sunday in Wong Tai Sin. An end to corporal punishment is the objective, together with a wider appreciation of non-violent ways of teaching children appropriate behaviour. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines corporal punishment as “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3007797/spanking-should-have-no-place-hong-kong-homes-so-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3007797/spanking-should-have-no-place-hong-kong-homes-so-our?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Apr 2019 23:00:16 +0000 Although Article 95 of the Basic Law provides that Hong Kong may “maintain juridical relations with the judicial organs of other parts of the country, and they may render assistance to each other”, no progress has been made in criminal matters since 1997. Notwithstanding the best efforts of the Security Bureau, rendition agreements with the rest of China have proved elusive. This has apparently been due to differences in the legal systems, with Hong Kong alone practising common law, and to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/3001693/foreign-countries-have-returned-fugitives-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/3001693/foreign-countries-have-returned-fugitives-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2019 04:15:11 +0000