The case of 47 people in the pro-democracy primary election has not yet started, and many defendants have been remanded for nearly a year and a half.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, the Secretary for Justice, Mr Lam Ting-kwok, agreed that the criticism that the primary election case has not been held for a long time is a reasonable concern. The program currently appears to be "not particularly verbose".
Lin Dingguo pointed out that the government is prudently handling the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law to ensure that all national security loopholes are plugged while balancing citizens' freedom of speech and expression.
When asked whether Article 23 of the Legislative Council would hand over special cases to the National Security Office in Hong Kong as in the "Hong Kong National Security Law", Lin Dingguo did not respond directly, only that the content of the legislation was "still under consideration". The "Article 23 Legislation" in 2008 and the anti-amendment legislation have caused a strong backlash from the society, describing it as "more than a lesson in history", indicating that this time the legislation will be carefully balanced.
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47-person case 'won't be less fair' if tried by appointed judge
Lin Dingguo believes that it is a "reasonable concern" that some people say that the primary election case has not been tried for a long time, but the waiting time for this case and the case involving the "Hong Kong National Security Law" is not particularly long. Make sure there are no unreasonable delays in the case.
He said that the workload of prosecutors has been heavy in recent years. The Department of Justice has hired external lawyers to assist in the work, and will discuss with the defense lawyers and the judiciary to speed up the process. The court has taken the initiative to manage cases, but it is not as easy as outsiders think.
He further explained that the progress of the case also depends on the availability of judges, and the defense lawyers put forward procedures such as translation and disclosure of documents, which is also one of the reasons for the long waiting time.
As for whether there will be a jury in the 47-person case, Lam declined to comment, but said it "would not be more unfair" to have three appointed judges.
It has been more than two years since the implementation of the "Hong Kong National Security Law".
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Don't care about Western sanctions
Lam Ding-kwok does not agree with the decline of the rule of law in Hong Kong. Instead, he sees that people continue to believe that the rule of law and the courts can resolve disputes, and that people do not need to worry about becoming victims of crime.
He said that he decided to serve as Secretary for Justice because he regarded Hong Kong as his home and wanted to contribute to Hong Kong.
He pointed out that even if he was sanctioned by Western countries, it was expected, he didn't care, and he had no overseas assets.
He said that Hong Kong's international rankings in judicial independence and rule of law are still high, but overseas regions have not yet grasped this fact. He will seize the opportunity to attend international legal forums to give a more accurate and complete account of the situation in Hong Kong to the world. He will also invite different sectors of society. People joined forces to promote, including retired judges, lawyers and business leaders, to strengthen credibility.
Lin Dingguo talks about two major work goals: preaching the real situation of the rule of law and building an international legal service center CECC of the United States wrote to Biden to urge sanctions on the Department of Justice Article 23｜Lin Dingguo expected to adopt the national security law bail threshold fake news, such as the new crown virus, it must be clarified in time for the US CECC to sanction legal personnel