Justice chief blasts foreign forces for 'groundless' remarks

Hong Kong's justice chief slammed foreign politicians on Sunday for making false accusations against the arrests and prosecutions of 15 prominent opposition figures, including Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and Martin Lee Chu-ming, stressing that the legal process is based on concrete evidence and not political considerations.

In her latest blog post, Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah emphasized that the Department of Justice (DOJ) handles criminal prosecutions independently without being subjected to political, improper or undue influence. Her strong stance has the support of the city's No 2 official, who also expressed his objection to undue foreign interference in his blog.

"It is plainly wrong to label our prosecutions as 'politicized'," Cheng wrote. "Statements made in requesting the DOJ to drop all the charges or with a view to affecting the DOJ's role in handling criminal prosecutions are futile."

Her remarks referred specifically to comments of several foreign organizations, government officials and politicians from the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union who are calling for the release of 15 opposition activists in the name of human rights, or freedom of speech and demonstration.

The 15 suspects are charged with organizing or participating in unauthorized assemblies in Hong Kong last year.

Attempts made by people in other jurisdictions to influence the process of justice in Hong Kong are a blatant defiance of rule of law, Cheng said.

No one, including tycoons and politicians, is above the law, nor should one be treated differently simply because of their status or beliefs, she added.

In his latest blog post, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said those allegations of political influence in the arrests of the 15 suspects are "biased" and "groundless".

Cheung wrote that the DOJ has acted impartially in strict accordance with the law, and foreign governments and lawmakers should not interfere with the internal affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, or attempt to interfere with the DOJ's independent decision to prosecute.

The rule of law and judicial independence are Hong Kong's core values. Cheung said. Any unfair or false accusations are unacceptable and must be refuted, he said.

Lau Siu-kai, vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies, a leading think tank on the SARs' affairs, said the condemnation from the two senior officials was a warning to external forces to steer clear of Hong Kong affairs. They were also warned not to support their acting political forces locally with malicious intent.

Tam Yiu-chung, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that the government is obligated, in the face of continual accusations overseas, to make clear that the arrests of criminal suspects are by no means "political prosecutions" for the sake of the rule of law.