Article: British Judges Are Carrying Water for China
Project Syndicate write
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement has just suffered another major blow. In a new ruling, a former UK Supreme Court president who serves on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal has done more than Chinese propagandists ever could to bolster the false impression that China is committed to the rule of law.
LONDON – One of the few commendable acts of Liz Truss’s bizarre career came in March 2022, when, as British foreign secretary, she supported the withdrawal of British judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. With the Communist Party of China (CPC) tightening its grip on the city-state, Robert Reed, then the president of the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, and Patrick Hodge could no longer serve on the court in good conscience. Their presence had helped legitimate the CPC’s claim that the rule of law still existed in Hong Kong.
The fact that the Hong Kong courts “continue to be internationally respected for their commitment to the rule of law,” Reed and Hodge wrote in a statement, was not enough to quiet the impression that they were endorsing “an administration which has departed from the values of political freedom and freedom of expression.” Their departure left the Hong Kong court with six British justices, although ones retired from the UK bench, including David Neuberger, a former UK Supreme Court president.
In their own statement, these remaining justices acknowledged that it was a “critical time in the history of Hong Kong.” But rather than resign, they believed their “continued participation … [would be] in the interest of the people of Hong Kong.”
But now, Neuberger has joined in a decision upholding the convictions of Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy protesters who were arrested and prosecuted under the CPC’s draconian Hong Kong National Security Law. Far from upholding rule of law, he and the other two remaining British justices on the bench – Nicholas Phillips and Leonard Hoffman – are doing the opposite, and sullying their reputations in the process.
LONDON – One of the few commendable acts of Liz Truss’s bizarre career came in March 2022, when, as British foreign secretary, she supported the withdrawal of British judges from the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal. With the Communist Party of China (CPC) tightening its grip on the city-state, Robert Reed, then the president of the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court, and Patrick Hodge could no longer serve on the court in good conscience. Their presence had helped legitimate the CPC’s claim that the rule of law still existed in Hong Kong.
The fact that the Hong Kong courts “continue to be internationally respected for their commitment to the rule of law,” Reed and Hodge wrote in a statement, was not enough to quiet the impression that they were endorsing “an administration which has departed from the values of political freedom and freedom of expression.” Their departure left the Hong Kong court with six British justices, although ones retired from the UK bench, including David Neuberger, a former UK Supreme Court president.
In their own statement, these remaining justices acknowledged that it was a “critical time in the history of Hong Kong.” But rather than resign, they believed their “continued participation … [would be] in the interest of the people of Hong Kong.”
But now, Neuberger has joined in a decision upholding the convictions of Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy protesters who were arrested and prosecuted under the CPC’s draconian Hong Kong National Security Law. Far from upholding rule of law, he and the other two remaining British justices on the bench – Nicholas Phillips and Leonard Hoffman – are doing the opposite, and sullying their reputations in the process.
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https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/hong-kong-court-british-judges-condoning-china-communist-party-abuses-by-nicholas-reed-langen-2024-08