Hong Kong legal system should reflect China’s will, says official

Statement seen as warning to judiciary to uphold Chinese interests or risk losing its independence

The Guardian

By Helen Davidson
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock
Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Hong Kong’s judicial system should reflect the will and interests of the Chinese nation, a senior official overseeing the national security law has said.

The comments have been interpreted as a clear instruction from Beijing that Hong Kong’s once-vaunted court system is now expected to operate in the interests of the central government in Beijing, rather than the rule of law.

In an interview with a pro-Beijing title, Zheng Yanxiong, the director of the Office for Safeguarding National Security, said the rule of law was an “important tool” in Hong Kong, and a “source of [its] charm”, but that the independent power of the judiciary was authorized by the National People’s Congress.

Publish : 2021-06-30 14:20:00

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