Topic
Beijing releases a white paper on Hong Kong stating that it has ‘complete jurisdiction’ over the territory and is the source of its autonomy.
Law and politics are not supposed to mix, but it is often difficult to separate one from the other. Over the years, Hong Kong's legal community has played an important role in defending the rule of law and, in doing so, commenting on politically sensitive issues.
The day Beijing released the unprecedented white paper on "one country, two systems" proclaiming its "comprehensive jurisdiction" over Hong Kong, it also decided that two senior officials would head to the city to promote the paper and give a better understanding of what it entails.
Political hacks like me who have the misfortune of having to read official documents will get a sense of déjà vu while reading the most controversial part of the State Council's by now infamous white paper.
Tian Feilong says the opposition in Hong Kong needs to sever ties with the independence camp to win Beijing’s trust for political reform within the ‘831’ framework, which is a historic milestone on the road to democracy
The trial relates to police obstruction charges dating back to a protest in June last year - before Occupy Central - outside the central government’s liaison office in Western District. Wong, 18, Nathan Law Kwun-chung, 22, Albert Chan Wai-yip, 60 and Raphael Wong Ho-ming, 26, are to apply for the charges to be stayed.
A magistrate yesterday questioned why prosecutors had taken a full year to bring four activists - including Scholarism convenor Joshua Wong Chi-fung - to court for allegedly obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties.
Student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung and three other activists are set to be charged with obstructing police officers during a protest outside the central government's liaison office last summer.
A Beijing legal scholar acknowledged an "inaccuracy" and "omissions" in the English version of the white paper on Hong Kong, which many in the city have interpreted as a threat to judicial independence.
The UK Supreme Court’s president, who also sits on Hong Kong’s top court, has dismissed worries over demands in Beijing’s white paper for local judges to be patriotic, saying the requirement is “not inconsistent” with judicial independence.
Beijing is studying ways to soften the blow that its controversial white paper had on Hong Kong, sources close to the central government said.
The council of the society yesterday elected Stephen Hung Wan-shun, who has served as vice-president, to the top post shortly after Lam tendered his resignation.
Law Society president Ambrose Lam San-keung announced on Tuesday that he will resign following controversy over his positive response to Beijing’s white paper on Hong Kong.
The city's top judge weighed into the debate about Beijing's white paper on the city's affairs, stressing that the local judiciary would act only on the basis of the law.
The community is expecting anxiously the determination of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the method of electing the chief executive in 2017. When it is made, the process of political reform will advance to a further stage.
Former top judge has reservations about Beijing's recent white paper that asserts Hong Kong judges have a "basic political requirement" to love the country.
When Ambrose Lam San-keung was re-elected president of the Law Society in May, few would have predicted that a month later he would be at the centre of a political storm unprecedented in the history of the solicitors' body.
The Law Society yesterday passed a historic vote of no confidence in its president for his remarks backing Beijing's recent white paper on Hong Kong.
Beijing's policy on Hong Kong will not change even if universal suffrage cannot be achieved in the 2017 chief executive election, the central government's top representative in the city says.
China's first ever white paper on the implementation of "one country, two systems", although heavily criticised in legal and pro-democracy circles, aroused little attention in the wider community.
A Law Society veteran has issued a rallying call to members to oust the institution's president for endorsing Beijing's white paper on "one country two systems".
The mainland's top official on Hong Kong affairs warned yesterday that 'external interference' in the city's affairs was totally unacceptable to Beijing - an apparent reference to Britain.
Last month, authorities in Beijing dropped a bombshell by publishing their first ever white paper on the implementation of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong.
A top Beijing official told Hong Kong officials they must 'strictly follow' the Basic Law in working out their electoral reform proposal when he unexpectedly summoned them for talks in Shenzhen.
Scepticism was expressed in Hong Kong about whether Britain would really stand up for the city's interests despite a pledge by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
China accused London of interfering in its internal affairs after British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg met two leading Hong Kong pro-democracy activists urging greater freedoms from Beijing.
The white paper on the practice of the "one country, two systems" policy in Hong Kong, released by the State Council recently, made a comprehensive review of Hong Kong's progress since the handover in its efforts to expand its external ties and gain a competitive edge in the world.
