https://www.scmp.com/rss/316720/feed Ronny Tong, SC, was chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association from 1999 to 2001, and was first elected a member of the Legislative Council in 2004. He was re-elected to serve a third term in 2012, but resigned in September 2015. He is currently a member of the Executive Council and convenor of the Path of Democracy think tank. His three major areas of concern are constitutional development, fair competition and the alleviation of poverty. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Ronny Tong Ronny Tong The death of Ted Turner, who founded CNN in 1980 as the world’s first 24-hour television news channel, is a poignant reminder of the glory days of the fourth estate. CNN made day-and-night news coverage, including at the front line of battlefields, an everyday experience for many people. The rise of the internet and ever more channels of news delivery has enabled a global audience of news consumers, attuned to reports delivered from all around the world. This has turned the most successful news... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3353284/jimmy-lai-case-shows-press-freedom-not-get-out-jail-free-ticket?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3353284/jimmy-lai-case-shows-press-freedom-not-get-out-jail-free-ticket?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 14 May 2026 01:30:06 +0000 Ronny Tong Ronny Tong In my experience, most people misunderstand the concept of “separation of powers”, and so I would not be at all surprised if most people also misunderstand the term “executive-led government”. In the case of separation of powers, the confusion usually arises from the use of the word “separation”. It connotes a meaning of absolute independence or alienation. A better word would have been “division”. The concept of separation of powers focuses on the division of power in a government and how that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3346623/heres-what-executive-led-government-really-means-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3346623/heres-what-executive-led-government-really-means-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:30:09 +0000 Ronny Tong Ronny Tong After 156 days of hearings, Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s case finally came to a close with the former media boss sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment. Western media and critics will no doubt say, what a harsh sentence for a “democracy advocate” and “freedom fighter”. However, Lai was not accused of fighting for freedom or demanding democracy in Hong Kong. His crimes were not even about his avowed hatred of the Communist Party. Western critics may be surprised to hear that hating the Communist Party is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3343014/collusion-serious-offence-let-jimmy-lais-case-be-example?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3343014/collusion-serious-offence-let-jimmy-lais-case-be-example?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:30:08 +0000 Ronny Tong Ronny Tong Hong Kong’s Democratic Party has announced what many people had been expecting for some time – that it would disband. For the party, this is the beginning of the end; for others, the question lingers: is this also the end of the democratic movement in Hong Kong? One thing is certain: the party’s demise will mark the end of an era, one when a colonial pressure-group mentality dictated the quest for democratic reforms in Hong Kong, a mentality which, sadly, was destined to ensure failure of the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3336471/end-road-hong-kongs-democracy-movement-theres-still-hope?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3336471/end-road-hong-kongs-democracy-movement-theres-still-hope?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Dec 2025 01:30:08 +0000 Ronny Tong Ronny Tong The Hong Kong government recently declared bounties against a number of former residents now in the United Kingdom and the United States for alleged offences against the Hong Kong national security law. This prompted a strong reaction from the UK government, which considered the move to be an example of “transnational repression”. This week, The Guardian published an interview with Chloe Cheung Hei-ching, who faces a warrant for her arrest that was issued last year. Its article portrayed her as... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3321532/why-smear-hong-kongs-prosecution-secession-political-persecution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3321532/why-smear-hong-kongs-prosecution-secession-political-persecution?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Aug 2025 01:30:07 +0000 Many people were taken aback by the ferocity of Xia Baolong’s speech on Hong Kong National Security Education Day. Beneath the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office’s calm and resolute delivery, there was anger and frustration. The message is clear: this is war – not war in the literal sense but war nevertheless. Does his speech signal the start of a chain reaction that will lead to total decoupling between the United States and China? If so, could Hong Kong be affected? While Hong... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3307079/hong-kong-may-feel-pain-trade-war-not-too-long?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3307079/hong-kong-may-feel-pain-trade-war-not-too-long?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 21 Apr 2025 12:30:08 +0000 The central government’s announcement last week that Hong Kong’s tourism and transport ministers would be replaced, following Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s recommendation, came as a surprise to many. It was unexpected not only because there appeared to be no hint whatsoever that it was going to happen, but also because the reshuffle was seen as coming a bit too early, in the sense that the administration is just short of its midterm. The biggest surprise, however, came at the... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3290053/reshuffle-shows-hong-kong-governments-commitment-accountability?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3290053/reshuffle-shows-hong-kong-governments-commitment-accountability?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Dec 2024 01:30:08 +0000 Is the press sacred and untouchable in today’s world? Some think it is. Yes, press freedom is a universal value and fundamental to a free society, but what are its limits, if any? These are pressing questions many struggle to answer. The answer recently given by the Hong Kong court in relation to Stand News, convicting the paper and its editors of sedition, however, is not very palatable to many. It may be instructive to revisit a similar case in 1998. In that case, the publisher of a mainstream... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3277869/no-threat-hong-kong-press-freedom-after-court-ruling-stand-news?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3277869/no-threat-hong-kong-press-freedom-after-court-ruling-stand-news?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Sep 2024 01:30:08 +0000 Is the rule of law in Hong Kong at stake? That is the question many, especially critics, are asking these days. With the recent departure of three foreign judges from the Court of Final Appeal, namely, Canada’s Beverley McLachlin and Britain’s Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption – who left with much fanfare – all eyes were on David Neuberger, the British judge still sitting in Hong Kong’s highest court, in former media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying’s controversial case. With the court’s... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3274781/rejection-jimmy-lais-appeal-no-breach-hong-kong-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3274781/rejection-jimmy-lais-appeal-no-breach-hong-kong-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Aug 2024 01:30:26 +0000 Are sanctions foreign interference? Can political commentary be regarded as deceptive? These are the vexing questions one needs to ponder in this new age of national security concerns – particularly if you are travelling to Canada. The Canadian parliament recently passed an act to counter foreign interference, which received royal assent on June 20. By this act, Canada essentially created a new national security law, amending its existing national security legislation. One extensive change that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3269768/canadas-vague-and-harsh-new-security-law-reflects-contentious-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3269768/canadas-vague-and-harsh-new-security-law-reflects-contentious-geopolitics?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jul 2024 21:30:08 +0000 Few will disagree that the rule of law, encompassing the concept of judicial independence, is the cornerstone of success for Hong Kong. This was true before the handover in 1997, and is true now. It is therefore not surprising that the fact was not lost on the leaders of China and Britain when they negotiated the resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong in the 1980s. Some may even say the success of “one country, two systems” depends on the maintenance of judicial independence, so much so that... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3265819/uk-judges-resign-does-hong-kong-really-need-foreign-judges-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3265819/uk-judges-resign-does-hong-kong-really-need-foreign-judges-any-more?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 11 Jun 2024 01:30:11 +0000 A reputable Washington-based think tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), recently issued a report titled, “The Erosion of Hong Kong’s Autonomy since 2020: Implications for the United States”. The report says its findings are based on interviews conducted in Hong Kong with a “wide range of stakeholders”, including both former and current government officials, lawmakers and community leaders. It reaches the same conclusion as other such studies and reports issued by US... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3262044/why-western-hype-about-hong-kong-losing-its-high-degree-autonomy-rings-hollow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3262044/why-western-hype-about-hong-kong-losing-its-high-degree-autonomy-rings-hollow?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 May 2024 01:30:11 +0000 To the uninitiated, the UK’s most recent report on Hong Kong might give the impression that the city is repressive, dull and sectarian – nothing could be further from the truth. Most Hongkongers have learnt to ignore the six-monthly report, which is seen as too biased and unreal. But there are still many people worldwide who might take the report seriously, so some issues of principle need to be put right publicly. First, one needs to truly understand what the Sino-British Joint Declaration is... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3259214/what-uks-latest-report-hong-kong-gets-so-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3259214/what-uks-latest-report-hong-kong-gets-so-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Apr 2024 12:32:31 +0000 After the Hong Kong government’s announcement that it would enact Article 23 legislation, discussions on the proposed bill were relatively calm and rational. Unfortunately, that seems to have changed after officials announced, on completion of scrutiny of the Safeguarding National Security Bill in the Legislative Council, that there would be a proposed amendment to empower the chief executive in council to make subsidiary legislation “for the needs of safeguarding national security and the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3255813/article-23-concern-over-subsidiary-legislation-understandable-misplaced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3255813/article-23-concern-over-subsidiary-legislation-understandable-misplaced?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Mar 2024 21:30:14 +0000 National security has historically been an enigma for the man in the street. Why is it important? Who is to decide what is a matter of national security? Why should my rights be restricted because of it? Looking at some ancient laws in force today, one would be even more baffled. For example, UK treason laws prohibit the “giving” of “comfort” to the monarch’s enemies or any attempt to deprive the monarch of “the style, honour or royal name of the imperial crown of the United Kingdom”. Similar... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250771/article-23-how-hongkongers-can-have-their-say-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3250771/article-23-how-hongkongers-can-have-their-say-national-security?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 05 Feb 2024 01:30:13 +0000 Many believers, and not just Christians, were shocked by the recent petition signed by 10 Catholic leaders from various countries calling on the Hong Kong government to “immediately and unconditionally release” media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, who has been convicted of fraud and is awaiting trial on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. Their shock comes from the fact these religious leaders seem to think their belief in Lai’s “innocence” is more convincing than a... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241197/catholic-leaders-petition-free-jimmy-lai-shows-politics-and-religion-do-not-mix?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3241197/catholic-leaders-petition-free-jimmy-lai-shows-politics-and-religion-do-not-mix?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Nov 2023 01:30:07 +0000 The UK All-Party Parliamentary Group recently published a report on the impact of the national security law on Hong Kong’s media and concluded that: “The current situation in Hong Kong is a glaring violation of the Joint Declaration that was meant to preserve human rights guarantees cherished by the UK Government.” Those who have read the Sino-British Joint Declaration and know what is happening on the ground in Hong Kong will no doubt have serious difficulties understanding how anyone could... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218736/what-uk-parliamentary-groups-report-hong-kong-media-freedom-ignored?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3218736/what-uk-parliamentary-groups-report-hong-kong-media-freedom-ignored?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Apr 2023 15:00:17 +0000 US consul general for Hong Kong and Macau Gregory May recently lamented that the latest interpretation of the Hong Kong national security law by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee could erode the independence of the city’s judiciary. Such a view suggests May has not understood the Sino-British Joint Declaration or the Hong Kong Basic Law, which would be regrettable given his role as US envoy to Hong Kong. But more disconcerting is the fact that such a misunderstanding appears to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208694/chinese-legislatures-right-interpret-hong-kong-laws-should-be-respected-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3208694/chinese-legislatures-right-interpret-hong-kong-laws-should-be-respected-west?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Feb 2023 00:15:08 +0000 As a trained lawyer, I would probably feel nauseous if a judge said my client may be guilty of a crime. How can the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) conclude in its recent report that Chinese government actions in Xinjiang “may [emphasis added] constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”? Some say this is downright irresponsible; perhaps it is. In any event, I urge you to read the OHCHR report, all 46 pages of it. It is not long and not... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3191407/un-report-xinjiang-goes-too-far-its-conclusions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3191407/un-report-xinjiang-goes-too-far-its-conclusions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Sep 2022 22:45:22 +0000 I got angry recently because a leader of a Northern European country claimed that if China “invaded” Taiwan, European countries would not sit and do nothing. This is not the first time I have heard the word “invade” being used in relation to Taiwan. In fact, it is all over the internet. People are falling over each other to offer their own view on what would happen if China “invaded” Taiwan after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit. China “invaded” Taiwan? How does a country invade itself? If... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3188936/how-can-west-say-it-respects-one-china-policy-when-it-refuses-see?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3188936/how-can-west-say-it-respects-one-china-policy-when-it-refuses-see?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Aug 2022 17:30:21 +0000 If you woke up this morning feeling a bit dizzy from reading news reports, I don’t blame you. Welcome to the age of weaponisation of core values like human rights and democracy. “Weaponisation?”, you may ask. A few years ago, no one knew of such a word. Now, it’s on everyone’s lips. It is generally defined as turning something benign or commonplace into a weapon – and a potent one at that. A good example is human rights. On July 27, the United Nations Human Rights Committee issued a report on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3187282/hong-kong-has-no-defence-when-core-values-human-rights-are?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3187282/hong-kong-has-no-defence-when-core-values-human-rights-are?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Aug 2022 01:30:22 +0000 Your house is on fire. Your kind neighbours come rushing out with buckets of water to help but you hold out your hands to stop them in their tracks and ask: “Who will be responsible if my furniture suffers from water damage?” Absurd, is it not? Well, not so absurd, it would appear, in Hong Kong. From the day the first mainland medical personnel arrived in Hong Kong to help fight the fifth Covid-19 wave, the local media seem to have been interested in one question only: where can Hong Kong people... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3171121/targeting-mainland-medical-help-hong-kongs-media-only?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3171121/targeting-mainland-medical-help-hong-kongs-media-only?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Mar 2022 01:15:12 +0000 After a three-week trial under the Hong Kong national security law, an unprecedented three-judge court found a motorcyclist guilty of terrorism and inciting secession when he rode into a police line on July 1, 2020. At the heart of this trial was an intense debate as to what exactly is the meaning of the slogan, “Liberate Hong Kong; revolution of our times”, printed on a black flag carried by the accused. This slogan had been made popular among politicians advocating localism since 2016, at the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143907/hong-kong-national-security-trial-ruling-faithful-letter-and-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3143907/hong-kong-national-security-trial-ruling-faithful-letter-and-spirit?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Aug 2021 00:30:16 +0000 An American law professor recently wrote an article about the Hong Kong national security law where he examined almost every article, and concluded in these words: “I wasn’t going to pay much attention to the substantive crimes and their definition … It’s the institutions and the processes that count … This whole law is about avoiding the involvement of such institutions.” One article he did not refer to is Article 8, which provides that “the law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Hong... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092150/truth-hong-kongs-national-security-law-will-prevail-over-fog?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3092150/truth-hong-kongs-national-security-law-will-prevail-over-fog?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Jul 2020 01:00:15 +0000 Is there a right to undermine the safety and territorial integrity of your own country? Put the question this way, and few people in their right mind would say yes. But if you ask: is there a right to insist on your political beliefs even if it means the destruction or disintegration of communist China, a lot of people would jump up and say yes! So it should surprise no one that the draft decision put forward last Friday during the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3085949/distrust-china-has-blinded-hongkongers-beijings-intent-pushing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3085949/distrust-china-has-blinded-hongkongers-beijings-intent-pushing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 May 2020 01:00:09 +0000 They say half-truths are the worst lies. A case in point may be the latest report on China issued by the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China. In this report, there is a chapter on Hong Kong and Macau where the commission made at least three “findings” in relation to the recent events in Hong Kong. The commission found that: firstly, there is “further erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy and fundamental freedoms under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework” by reason of the proposed... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3046740/partial-truths-us-commission-report-hong-kong-protests-show?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3046740/partial-truths-us-commission-report-hong-kong-protests-show?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Jan 2020 21:15:12 +0000 At the height of Occupy Central, we all thought Hong Kong could not be more divisive or politically charged than at that time. How wrong we were. Professor Albert Chen Hung-yee described the wrath of the people opposing the proposed amendment bill of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance as a “perfect storm” (courtesy of a Hollywood movie); but there is nothing perfect about it. According to a poll carried out by a respectable newspaper in Hong Kong, 90 per cent of those marching on a Sunday in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3017719/hong-kong-extradition-protesters-made-five-demands-carrie-lam?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3017719/hong-kong-extradition-protesters-made-five-demands-carrie-lam?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Jul 2019 01:00:07 +0000 It is a sad truth in Hong Kong that whatever initiative is proposed by the government, especially if it involves the Chinese government in some way, you can be sure it will be turned into a highly charged, irrational political debate in which conspiracy theories abound. The most recent proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance is no exception. What is somewhat unusual is that, this time, the commercial sector has also waded into the mud bath. Certain prominent chambers of commerce and... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3004273/hong-kong-should-trust-its-own-judiciary-all-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/3004273/hong-kong-should-trust-its-own-judiciary-all-extradition?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Apr 2019 01:00:06 +0000 In a recent novel co-authored by none other than former US president Bill Clinton, the main character – also a US president – despairs, saying: “[Modern politics] breeds more frustration, polarisation, paralysis, bad decisions, and missed opportunities … with no incentive to actually accomplish something; more politicians just go with the flow, fanning the flames of anger and resentment, when they should be acting as the fire brigade.” This observation is sad yet true; Hong Kong is the epitome... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2187872/extradition-agreement-mainland-china-would-serve?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2187872/extradition-agreement-mainland-china-would-serve?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Feb 2019 00:02:11 +0000 Apart from political reform, you could say trying to create land for development is the next most controversial issue facing Hong Kong in recent years. Yes, Hong Kong is an island, and yes, we have more hills than flatland, but still, developed areas only represent less than 25 per cent of our total area. This is in comparison with 40 per cent of our area being designated country parks and natural reserves. And yet, we have long been stuck with the infamous reputation of being a concrete jungle... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2159095/why-reclamation-not-public-housing-hong-kongs-path?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2159095/why-reclamation-not-public-housing-hong-kongs-path?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Aug 2018 08:00:52 +0000 There is a burning question on a lot of people’s minds these days: why do politicians want to attack Hong Kong’s judiciary and undermine our rule of law? Some say the answer is “simple”. Some politicians think that, to fight for democracy in Hong Kong, they must attack the system; to attack the system, they must break the law; and, since the judiciary is standing on the side of the law, the judiciary is standing on the side of the enemy. Since the enemy is evil, the judiciary must be, too. That... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2151040/critics-hong-kong-court-judgments-must-least-stick?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2151040/critics-hong-kong-court-judgments-must-least-stick?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Jun 2018 04:04:09 +0000 I have been a member of the Hong Kong Bar for over 40 years and have the highest respect for its council. I also firmly believe that when a professional body deals with an important issue, it must do so in a fair and professional way, and always be on guard to avoid using emotive and intemperate rhetoric. This is particularly so when it comes to interpreting a constitutional document like the Basic Law. You can therefore imagine my shock and sadness at reading the Bar Association’s statement on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126470/hong-kong-lawyers-can-oppose-joint-checkpoint-plan-high?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2126470/hong-kong-lawyers-can-oppose-joint-checkpoint-plan-high?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jan 2018 09:50:28 +0000 On the lips of many people in Hong Kong is the question: are we witnessing the devaluation of the Nobel Prize and the truth? The reason for this seemingly absurd question is a recent commentary in The New York Times, accusing the Hong Kong judiciary of sentencing three student leaders to jail, varying from six to eight months, on what the author called “bogus charges”. She was referring to an incident where the defendants, after participating in a lawful rally, decided to rush security... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109265/sympathy-jailed-activists-does-not-justify-slurs-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2109265/sympathy-jailed-activists-does-not-justify-slurs-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Sep 2017 01:45:50 +0000 Just the other day, a friend of mine asked me: “What do we get from this chief executive election?” It was a simple enough question, but it stunned me for a while. Yes, come to think of it, apart from getting a new leader, what do we get from this election? Or more to the point, what can we expect from our new chief executive that may be different from what we got from the last three? If you look back over the course of the election campaign, you cannot but come to the dreaded conclusion that... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081799/election-over-hong-kong-must-try-again-agree-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2081799/election-over-hong-kong-must-try-again-agree-political?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Mar 2017 08:01:27 +0000 So, yet another interpretation of the Basic Law by the NPC Standing Committee is upon us. This is the fifth interpretation in almost 20 years. One legal academic described this interpretation – on oath-taking for public officials – as a “nuclear bomb” and said our entire legal system and the “one country, two systems” principle had been “bombed away”. Other pan-democrats used similar language to describe this interpretation, while the pro-government parties rallied behind the National People’s... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2043955/npc-interpretation-adds-nothing-new-hong-kong-law-and-wholly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2043955/npc-interpretation-adds-nothing-new-hong-kong-law-and-wholly?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Nov 2016 09:22:15 +0000 Everyone expected the Hong Kong localists to start some kind of trouble at the swearing-in ceremony of newly elected legislators, but no one foresaw the magnitude of the storm. Yau Wai-ching of Youngspiration made our jaws drop when, while taking her “oath”, she said “Re-f**king” and “Cheena”, a derogatory term the Japanese used for China during the second world war. Her fellow party member, Sixtus Baggio Leung Chung-hang, also said “Cheena” in his “oath”. Clearly, both legislators-elect... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2039600/when-oath-not-oath-thats-question-hong-kongs-courts-not?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2039600/when-oath-not-oath-thats-question-hong-kongs-courts-not?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 25 Oct 2016 09:15:15 +0000 While some say the Legislative Council election results are surprising, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Beijing’s white paper on Hong Kong, Occupy Central, the failure of the last attempt at political reform, the Lunar New Year riots in Mong Kok, the missing booksellers and the rejection of the candidacy of popular new political star Edward Leung Tin-kei of Hong Kong Indigenous – plus other incidents threatening “one country, two systems” – all served to ignite the wrath of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2017142/rise-radicals-will-plunge-legislature-and-hong-kong-more?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2017142/rise-radicals-will-plunge-legislature-and-hong-kong-more?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Sep 2016 09:52:38 +0000 Of all the questions many of us are currently asking, there is one which nobody seems to be prepared to answer: what is going to happen after the political reform package proposed by the Hong Kong government is vetoed? Few people seem to care. But it is a legitimate, some even say a pertinent, question to ask at this point in time. Granted, the current reform package is wholly unacceptable, and the community is deeply divided on this. What would happen in the future if we had a chance to revisit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1823191/change-needed-all-sides-hong-kong-can-move-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1823191/change-needed-all-sides-hong-kong-can-move-political?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jun 2015 09:39:25 +0000 So the Hong Kong government has finally released its blueprint for "universal suffrage" for the selection of our chief executive. No one was holding their breath and, to be sure, there were no surprises. What does surprise rational people, however, is that both the Hong Kong government and the pan-democrats think this battle, if not the war, will be won according to the results of opinion polls over the next six to eight weeks. Instead of trying to find a way out of this morass, they are both... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1774451/until-theres-mutual-trust-hong-kong-wont-see-universal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1774451/until-theres-mutual-trust-hong-kong-wont-see-universal?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Apr 2015 10:49:13 +0000 Ask any lawyer to give a view on any topic and he will give you 10. Ask a good lawyer and he will probably give you 20. So the Occupy organisers today seem to be courting trouble by asking no less than five lawyers to give their views on something as nebulous as civil disobedience. I said nebulous because if you care to look it up on the internet, you will find no definitive definition of civil disobedience. In fact you will find there are as many views as there are different aspects of civil... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1638226/democracy-cant-exist-without-respect-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1638226/democracy-cant-exist-without-respect-rule-law?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Nov 2014 08:57:46 +0000