Editorial | Hong Kong barristers’ exchanges with Beijing are vital

Trips by Hong Kong lawyers to the mainland are becoming a regular occurrence as the profession explores opportunities for closer cross-border collaboration and business.

Earlier this month a delegation led by the secretary for justice visited Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Last week, the Bar Association, representing the city’s barristers, made its annual visit to Beijing. Such engagement is to be encouraged.

The trip by 14 members of the Bar is especially significant. It included meetings with officials from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the Legislative Affairs Commission and the Ministry of Commerce.

Ties between the Bar and Beijing were frozen for five years from 2018, following the association’s strong criticism of government measures.

There was a thaw in relations after the election of Victor Dawes as chairman of the organisation in 2022. The Bar’s first “ice-breaking” visit to Beijing since the freeze was in April last year.

This year’s trip saw what Dawes described as “frank” discussions about matters of concern to the city’s legal profession and the public. Topics included the application of new national security laws and the impact of any US sanctions on Hong Kong lawyers and judges.