Top related persons:
Top related locs:
Top related orgs:

Search resuls for: "James Pomfret Greg Torode"


3 mentions found


HONG KONG, July 19 (Reuters) - China's appointment of a top intelligence official to run Hong Kong's national security regime underscores its determination to tighten its grip on the financial hub, according to diplomats and analysts. Dong will bolster security oversight of Hong Kong, rocked for months in 2019 by pro-democracy protests that posed a crisis for Beijing's Communist Party leadership. Under the security law, China's national security office has sweeping investigative and surveillance powers, and enjoys immunity from city laws. Dong's appointment comes as Hong Kong prepares to bolster its national security regimen with a new law, called Article 23, that Hong Kong officials say will encompass espionage and treason among other offences not covered in the 2020 legislation. Additional reporting by Hong Kong newsroom and Yew Lun Tian in Beijing; editing by Robert BirselOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Dong Jingwei, Dong, Xi Jinping's, Tian, Robert Birsel Organizations: Hong, Beijing's Communist Party, Ministry of State Security, U.S, Hong Kong, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, British, Beijing, Hong Kong, China, United States, Britain, Australia
[1/4] Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee delivers his first annual policy address at the Legislative Council in Hong Kong, China October 19, 2022. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Hong Kong leader John Lee said on Tuesday the central government in Beijing was "highly concerned" about the issue of foreign lawyers appearing in national security cases, with a landmark legal interpretation on the matter by Beijing expected soon. Lee said Hong Kong authorities are seeking a delay to the start of the trial. "It is a grim moment," said one veteran Hong Kong criminal lawyer. Hong Kong officials, including Lee, have said repeatedly that Hong Kong is strongly committed to the rule of law, and its independent judicial power is constitutionally protected.
But Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal (CFA) on Monday gave a final ruling on the matter, rejecting the government's application to impose a "blanket ban" on foreign lawyers working on national security cases, bar exceptional circumstances. Lai is one of the most prominent Hong Kong critics of China's Communist Party leadership including Xi Jinping, and Hong Kong's Department of Justice made repeated attempts to block Owen from representing him. SWEEPING NATIONAL SECURITY LAWLee also said there was no means of ensuring a foreign lawyer would not divulge state secrets that might emerge during a national security trial. Beijing imposed the sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in June 2020 after sometimes-violent protests rocked the city for months the year before. Beijing's power of ultimate legal interpretation is outlined in the Basic Law, the mini-constitution that grants extensive Hong Kong autonomy and freedoms.
Total: 3