Chen Zeming was elected as the new president of the Law Society: Adhering to the political neutrality of Lam Cheng's opinion, he will listen to it if it makes sense

The Law Society of Hong Kong re-elected some of its directors last week, and the "professional" team selected all 5 seats.

The Law Society held a board meeting today (31st). As expected, Chen Zeming was elected as the new president; Li Yaming, Tang Wenlong, and Yu Guojian were elected as the vice presidents.

When meeting with the media, Chen Zeming said that he would welcome the next year's work with the most humility, and lead the lawyers to uphold professionalism, be politically neutral and impartial, and speak up on social issues from a legal perspective.

Regarding Chief Executive Carrie Lam once said that if lawyers become politicized, they will consider terminating cooperation. Chen Zeming pointed out that Hong Kong has freedom of speech and will listen to the opinions of others. Self-regulatory professional bodies will manage internal affairs from a professional perspective.

Chen Zeming was elected as the new president of the Law Society (second from left), and Li Yaming (first from left), Tang Wenlong (second from right), and Yu Guojian (first from right) were elected vice presidents.

(Photo by Zhang Haowei)

I don’t think Lam Cheng’s comments criticize the Law Society

The current president, Peng Yunxu, who has been re-elected for three terms, broke the unwritten tradition of serving as president of the Law Society last year for only two years.

Chen Zeming practised at Mayer Brown in his early years, and later switched to Kadoorie & Sons Co., Ltd. as legal counsel, and now settles in Xiao Yifeng Law Firm.

Chen Zeming was promoted to the board of directors for the first time in 2016. Since 2018, he has been promoted to the vice president of the Law Society. He is currently a research consultant at the think tank "Hong Kong Vision" founded by Jasper Tsang.

When asked whether Carrie Lam’s earlier remarks put pressure on the re-election of the Law Society’s directors, Chen Zeming pointed out that everyone in Hong Kong, including the chief executive, has freedom of speech. If the other party has reason, he will listen to opinions. He does not think Carrie Lam’s The remarks are criticizing the Law Society, and also that the Law Society, as a self-regulatory body, has its own internal rules and can only proceed from a professional perspective, "(Council election) is a good internal election."

As for director candidate Luo Zhangnan's withdrawal from the election and Zhang Daming's resignation as director, do you cast a vote of no confidence in the Law Society?

Chen Zeming disagreed with this statement, saying that Zhang Daming had stated that his decision to resign was made long before the election, and emphasized that the Law Society is committed to holding an open and transparent election.

When asked about his opinions on the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, Chen Zeming pointed out that he had heard of this news, which he described as an important issue that attracted the attention of colleagues in charge of commercial law and cross-border trade law, but because there was no specific information. , Cannot respond at this stage.

Peng Yunxi praises the commitment of the new leadership

Chen Zeming mentioned that the most important duty of the Law Society is to uphold the rule of law in Hong Kong. It will uphold professionalism, be politically neutral and impartial, and speak up on social issues from a legal perspective. He also pointed out that Hong Kong is the only city in China that implements the common law system and will be committed to it. Maintain Hong Kong common law traditions.

Peng Yunxu, who has been appointed as the president, said that he is very happy to complete his three-year term. The past three years have had many ups and downs, but the lawyers will brave the wind and waves to move forward. The future is full of confidence.

The election of the council of the Law Society last week turned into a "supervisory power dispute." Chief Executive Carrie Lam had warned that if the Law Society continues to be politicized, it will consider terminating its relationship with the government. In the end, the "professionals" won 5 seats.

Zhang Daming, the chief lecturer of the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, regarded as an "enlightened", resigned as a council member last night (30th), saying that he hopes to focus on teaching and provide free legal services, while taking care of family and private life.

Zhang Daming’s resignation from the Law Society Director Peng Yunxi respects the decision: Thank you for your contribution Chen Zeming takes over as the chairman The Law Society elects a new chairman and vice chairman Zhang Daming announces his resignation as a director with immediate effect. The Law Society re-elects the professional group and vigorously protects the dominant industry from being attacked by the government

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