Hong Kong not an ‘independent judicial kingdom’: pro-Beijing heavyweight doubles down on reform calls
- Tam Yiu-chung, city’s sole delegate to country’s top legislative body, makes comments in publication as justice minister insists system ‘very much’ transparent
- Debate comes against backdrop of highly polarised landscape, with both sides of political divide slamming court rulings deemed to favour rivals
Tam, the city’s sole deputy to the country’s top legislative body, the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, also asked judges not to regard themselves as “elites”, adding they should make “down-to-earth” rulings that suited the prevailing situation in society.
His comments, made in an article published in the latest issue of Bauhinia Magazine, came as the city’s justice minister Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah declined to throw government support behind such calls, saying it was up to the judiciary.
Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, raised the need for judicial reform in the city last November, when he cited the views of former Court of Final Appeal judge Henry Litton, who said local courts had “put a slant on the Basic Law, by applying obscure norms and values from overseas which are totally unsuited to Hong Kong’s circumstances”.
In his article, Tam said: “Anyone, including the judiciary, should be subject to the supervision of society and take note of public feelings when exercising power. But, there are some people who misinterpret ‘exercising judicial power independently’ as … ‘an independent judicial kingdom’ that is not subject to any restriction, regulation, or supervision. I find this regretful.”
I hope [Hong Kong’s] judiciary can … cautiously execute the authorities conferred by the Basic Law, not to treat themselves as elites and try to avoid difficult [legal language] and boastful practices
