An Asia-based legal group has expressed concern over “the broad application” of the Beijing-imposed national security law, after the Hong Kong police last month announced arrest warrants and HK$1 million bounties for eight overseas democrats.
In response, the administration has condemned unnamed “overseas legal professional” groups for “groundless attacks and slandering” against the sweeping security legislation and law enforcement actions.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Law Association For Asia and the Pacific (LAWASIA) said that it was concerned by the HK$1 million bounties, as well as the language used by Chief Executive John Lee to describe the wanted democrats.
National security police issued HK$1 million bounties for self-exiled democrats, including lawyers Dennis Kwok and Kevin Yam, over alleged offences under the security legislation.
The other democrats were ex-lawmakers Ted Hui and Nathan Law, and activists Anna Kwok, Elmer Yuen, Mung Siu-tat and Finn Lau.
After the bounties were announced, Lee told Hongkongers to treat the democrats like “street rats.”
“The eight wanted criminals have breached Hong Kong national security law, endangered national security and been involved in serious crimes… As I have said, everyone should treat them as street rats and avoid [them] at all costs,” the chief executive said last month.
LAWASIA said that the language used by Lee “should be avoided at all cost.”
“Such language may lead to the incitement of violence against these persons, including the lawyers,” the group said, referring to Kwok and Yam.
“LAWASIA is also concerned that professional restrictions have been sought to be imposed on these lawyers, by Hong Kong’s Secretary of Justice’s complaint to the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bar Association against lawyers Kevin Yam and Dennis Kwok, respectively.”
‘Stop being manipulated’
In a statement issued on Tuesday night, the Hong Kong government said that Kwok and Yam “made use of their capacity as a Hong Kong barrister and a Hong Kong solicitor to smear Hong Kong’s judicial system and rule of law, and make slanderous remarks against Hong Kong judges and prosecutors.”
“Their acts have undermined the judicial system and overall interests of the HKSAR, and are suspected of seriously violating cardinal professional rules and ethics of a legal practitioner,” the statement read.
A government spokesperson also “solemnly” urged unnamed organisations to “discern fact from fallacy and stop being manipulated by people with ulterior motives, immediately refrain from wantonly slandering and smearing the NSL and the implementation of the Law in the HKSAR.”
Any pressure ‘unacceptable’
Chan Chak-ming, president of Hong Kong’s Law Society and a LAWASIA executive committee member, said in a statement on Tuesday that the legal group’s statement did not represent his own personal view.
Chan added that the Law Society was a “self-governing professional body which deals with complaints about its members fairly, impartially and efficiently.”
It had to ensure that those filing complaints could do so without pressure, Chan said in the statement.
“Any pressure to be exerted on the Law Society when the complaints (whether or not relating to the National Security Law) are under investigation is unacceptable.”
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