HKFP on the latest in HK govt’s version of lawfare.
Liaison Office deputy head Liu Guangyuan told local lawyers to leverage Hong Kong’s common law system as a bridge between Belt and Road countries.
A senior Beijing official in Hong Kong has urged the city’s legal professionals to act as “envoys” in promoting its rule of law, and to seize the chance to become a dispute resolution centre for China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Liu Guangyuan, deputy director of the central government’s Liaison Office, said Hong Kong should leverage its unique advantages as the sole common law jurisdiction in China and provide cross-border dispute resolution services for Belt and Road countries.
Liu was speaking at a forum organised by the Law Society of Hong Kong, a professional body for the city’s lawyers, to mark the 10th anniversary of the initiative.
“The legal sector in Hong Kong is an important participant, contributor and beneficiary in the Belt and Road Initiative,” Liu told guests in Mandarin.
“It should actively engage in international exchanges, serving as envoys to tell a good story of Hong Kong’s rule of law, and to polish its gold-lettered signboard.”
Liu, formerly Beijing’s top diplomat in Hong Kong, also told the sector to firmly uphold the Chinese constitution and the Basic Law, Hong Kong’s mini-constitution, in defending the city’s constitutional order.
“Making use of the rule of law and optimising the business environment are important ways for Hong Kong to contribute to the Belt and Road project,” he added.
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