The Law Society of Hong Kong held its annual general meeting on the 23rd of this month to re-elect 6 directors. Different from the "professional" and "enlightened" groups in the past few years, the competition for this year's re-election has been greatly reduced, with only 7 people competing for 6 vacancies. In the past, the two camps mobilized to canvass and compete for authorized tickets and other actions are no longer high-profile.
Some people in the establishment believe that Hong Kong has entered a new political order. Professional groups are "engaging in politics" and will lose their right to self-regulate at any time. "Depoliticization" is the only way out.
Former President Peng Yunxi is elected as director
In recent years, the socio-political atmosphere has become confrontational, and the voter turnout for the Law Society’s re-election has reached a record high. Last year’s election was the most watched in history. If the pro-democracy “enlightened faction” wins all 5 seats, the council will “change the sky”.
On the eve of the election, the People's Daily published an article warning that the Law Society should draw a clear line with "anti-China rioters". The then Chief Executive Carrie Lam also rarely stated that if the Law Society became "politicized", the government would consider terminating the cooperative relationship. Last year, "Professionals" won all 5 seats.
The Law Society re-elected 6 directors this year, and only 7 people signed up, including Peng Yunxi, who remained as director of the previous term, Zheng Weibang, Ma Kangli, who is seeking re-election as director, Mark Daly, who is known as a "human rights lawyer", and legal Cao Shaoji, president of the Professional Association, etc.
According to an unwritten convention, the president will stay on the board for one year after he resigns, and then resign from the board of directors, but Peng Yunxi still signed up for the election of the board member this time. I want to stay on the council to follow up on legal issues.
Some lawyers also pointed out that the council lacked experienced people to sit, and Peng Yunxi was encouraged to sit for a while.
Peng Yunxi, the first female president of the Law Society, handed over the baton to Chen Zeming last year.
(file picture)
Di Limai is the "only" candidate to win the election?
As for Dirimah, who has dealt with numerous minority and human rights cases, he is seeking re-election again and is regarded as the only "enlightened faction" to run for election.
However, some members of the Law Society believe that "yellow and blue" and "professional/enlightened" should no longer be classified, and that "professionalism should be returned to the profession". In fact, all topics discussed by the Council are related to legal affairs and should not involve politics Stance or "color".
The establishment faction who is familiar with the situation pointed out that when Di Limai was elected as a director in 2019, the establishment camp played with a list of 5 people. In the end, Di Limai still successfully broke through and became the "vote king", which reflects that some of the members of the establishment are biased. The lawyers are also willing to give Dili Mai votes, and do not want the council to be one-sided.
The person believes that Dilimet has a certain chance of winning, but it depends on whether his original supporters will come out to vote again.
Some people in the establishment have pointed out that this election is a time to "return to normal" and "depoliticize". The election was originally an internal affair of the legal profession, but it has been closely watched because of the "political frenzy" in the society in recent years, which is not healthy.
He believes that this election is no longer "yellow and blue". Although Delimah is a "human rights lawyer", lawyers with a pan-democratic background do not expect to vote, and the other side has not actively mobilized and encouraged authorized votes. The election will be flat, and the turnout will not be as high as in previous times.
Zhou Haoding, a member of the DAB Legislative Council who is a practicing lawyer, expressed his hope that "professionalism will return to professionalism, and politics will return to politics." He pointed out that high or low voter turnout is not the key.
Some members of the Legislative Council pointed out that under the new situation of the National Security Law, professional teams should not get involved in politics, otherwise they may lose their right to self-regulate.
The Law Society is concerned about the delayed trial of the National Security Law case, the Department of Justice: Take steps to deal with unreasonable delays in the demolition | lost more than a thousand votes
