The acquittal of dozens of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters — often accompanied by withering court criticism of police — has triggered a backlash from Beijing loyalists demanding an overhaul of a judicial system long known for its independence.
Semi-autonomous Hong Kong owes much of its success as a financial hub to its transparent legal system.
Unlike authoritarian China’s judicial structure — where opaque courts are party-controlled and convictions all but guaranteed — Hong Kong’s is internationally respected.
Photo: AFP
As Beijing cracks down following last year’s huge and often violent pro-democracy protests, judges are finding themselves in the crossfire of the territory’s festering political divide.
Much of that criticism comes from a pro-establishment bloc infuriated by acquittals or perceived light sentences for protesters.
Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po — two staunchly pro-Beijing newspapers based in Hong Kong — have led the charge, publishing articles calling for judicial reform and deriding “yellow judges” — the color associated with the democracy movement.
Prominent local pro-Beijing politicians have joined in, calling certain judges biased, and lobbying for the creation of a sentencing committee to impose harsher jail terms.
Last month, graffiti daubed in red paint appeared on a wall reading in Chinese: “Police arrested people, but the ‘dog judge’ released them.”
That message targeted former magistrate Stanley Ho (何俊堯), who had acquitted two people of assaulting police.
Ho slammed two testifying officers for “telling lies to cover lies,” and said that the force used against those they arrested was “completely unnecessary.”
North Point District Councilor Jocelyn Chau (仇栩欣), one of the two exonerated, remains furious about the trial and months spent on bail.
“The long wait, the pressure you face from family members and friends when you go through the trial, are unnecessary sufferings,” she said. “Yet, the officers who lied face no consequences.”
Testimony or evidence from police in at least 27 protest cases has been dismissed by magistrates as either unreliable, contradictory or not credible, and resulted in acquittal, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on local media reports.
No officer has been disciplined for evidence given on the stand.
A police spokesperson said that any court complaint about an officer would be handled “in a fair and impartial manner.”
Of more than 10,000 people arrested at protests, about 2,300 cases have gone on to some form of judicial proceedings with 331 convictions, according to Hong Kong police statistics.
Charges have been withdrawn in another 42 cases, and 65 cases have ended in acquittal.
Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong-based lawyer and author of two books on the territory’s protest movements, said that the acquittals show the courts are doing their job.
“These cases show both the political pressure that prosecutors must be under to bring every case to court ... and the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary in continuing to throw these cases out,” he said.
“However, this will inevitably lead to more attacks on Hong Kong’s independent judiciary from Beijing and its supporters,” he added.
Pro-democracy supporters have also criticized some judgements and sentences, especially on social media, but no major opposition figure has called for overhauling the judiciary.
Last week, Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) criticized “unjustified attacks” against judges, calling on people to respect court decisions “regardless of his or her political stance.”
The judiciary has also taken to publishing several trial transcripts and judgements by magistrates accused of favoring protesters in a bid to show how decisions were reached.
Still, many of those exonerated by trial feel angry about their ordeals.
Lee Sheung-chun, who was acquitted of assaulting police, spent nearly a year under a bail curfew with his passport confiscated.
“The past year was unhappy, worrisome and nerve-wracking,” the 32-year-old warehouse worker said.
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
STEPPING UP: Diminished US polar science presence mean opportunities for the UK and other countries, although China or Russia might also fill that gap, a researcher said The UK’s flagship polar research vessel is to head to Antarctica next week to help advance dozens of climate change-linked science projects, as Western nations spearhead studies there while the US withdraws. The RRS Sir David Attenborough, a state-of-the-art ship named after the renowned British naturalist, would aid research on everything from “hunting underwater tsunamis” to tracking glacier melt and whale populations. Operated by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), the country’s polar research institute, the 15,000-tonne icebreaker — boasting a helipad, and various laboratories and gadgetry — is pivotal to the UK’s efforts to assess climate change’s impact there. “The saying goes
TICKING CLOCK: A path to a budget agreement was still possible, the president’s office said, as a debate on reversing an increase of the pension age carries on French President Emmanuel Macron yesterday was racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline after the resignation of outgoing French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis. The presidency late on Wednesday said that Macron would name a new prime minister within 48 hours, indicating that the appointment would come by this evening at the latest. Lecornu told French television in an interview that he expected a new prime minister to be named — rather than early legislative elections or Macron’s resignation — to resolve the crisis. The developments were the latest twists in three tumultuous
RSS