Latest news with #PaulLam
RTHK
3 days ago
- Politics
- RTHK
'Constructive criticism not amounting to sedition'
'Constructive criticism not amounting to sedition' Secretary for Justice Paul Lam said people don't have to worry about falling foul of the SAR's sedition laws so long as their criticism is aimed at suggesting improvement to the authorities. The justice chief told the RTHK programme NSL Chronicles III that there are clear stipulations about how certain acts and comments do not constitute sedition in the home-grown national security law under Article 23 of the Basic Law. "For example, when we have different opinions or criticisms about government policies, the law is clear in this regard," Lam said. "If you're expressing views with the intent of wishing the government to do better, or making so-called criticism with good intentions, the law states in black and white that these do not amount to [the crime of] seditious intention." Lam said according to the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, it is also legal to suggest improvement to the legal or political system as well as the constitutional order, so long as there's no intent to incite hatred or contempt. On the other hand, Lam explained how people may violate seditious laws under Article 23 even if they don't intend to incite violence. He noted there had been instances where some comments "could harm the public's views towards the government", causing hatred or enmity, even if they don't specifically ask people to take up arms to confront the SAR government.
HKFP
4 days ago
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong justice minister downplays departure of foreign judges, says numbers ‘not main point'
Hong Kong's justice chief has downplayed the departure of foreign judges in recent years, saying it is not about their numbers but whether the judges have 'a good international reputation.' Secretary for Justice Paul Lam told Cable News in an interview published on Monday that the city's foreign judges system was still effective. 'There are new [foreign] appointed judges who are willing to join. Would you say [the system] is useless?' Lam said in Cantonese. 'If they think they wouldn't make any contribution if they were to come here, [I] believe they would not come to Hong Kong to help,' he added. The top official's comments follow a recent exodus of foreign judges from the city's top court. The most recent departure was former Australian justice Robert French, who resigned in April and said the role of foreign judges in the court had become 'arguably cosmetic.' In June, a New Zealand judge, William Young, joined the city's Court of Final Appeal (CFA). There are currently six overseas judges in the top court, compared with 15 at its peak. Lam told Cable News that the number of foreign judges was 'not the main point.' 'It's about what type of people come, and whether they have a good international reputation,' he said. The justice minister also dismissed Hong Kong's fall in the global rule of law index. 'Regarding human rights and freedoms, I believe that their ranking of Hong Kong… does not reflect the actual situation. This might be an issue of external perception,' he said, adding that Western countries often did not have a 'comprehensive' judgement of Hong Kong. Top court exodus Since the CFA's establishment in 1997, it has sporadically extended invitations to judges from other common law jurisdictions to join its panel. This practice has been regarded as a testament to the international community's trust in the city's judicial system. Last year, however, the apex court lost five judges. Anthony Murray Gleeson from Australia did not renew his term when it ended in February 2024, citing old age; UK judges Jonathan Sumption and Lawrence Collins quit in June 2024 before their terms ended; while Canada's Beverley McLachlin and the UK's Nicholas Phillips did not extend their terms. Sumption wrote an opinion piece for the Financial Times just days after his resignation, saying Hong Kong was 'slowly becoming a totalitarian state.' Judges operate in an 'almost impossible political environment created by China,' he said. Before the recent string of departures, two British judges in 2022, Robert Reed and Patrick Hodge, quit the CFA, citing the erosion of political freedoms.
South China Morning Post
6 days ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Misuse of AI risks harming public confidence in the justice system
The risks of relying on artificial intelligence for research, without verifying the results, should by now be clear to all, almost three years after the groundbreaking launch of ChatGPT. Lawyers using generative AI tools to prepare material for court should be setting a shining example. But judges around the world, from Britain to the US, Canada and Australia, continue to be presented with arguments based on non-existent court judgments generated by AI. More needs to be done to prevent such abuses. Hong Kong is not immune to the problem. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok used a ceremony for three new senior counsel to sound a warning last weekend. He said the city's legal profession faced the challenge of adopting new technology without compromising integrity. Lam then quoted from a UK court judgment delivered the previous day. The court had warned that AI tools are 'not capable of conducting reliable legal research'. Dame Victoria Sharp, one of two judges ruling in the case of Ayinde, pointed out that AI's 'apparently coherent and plausible responses' may be entirely incorrect or simply untrue.
The Standard
12-06-2025
- Politics
- The Standard
Hong Kong should be vigilant in times of peace: Justice chief
Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok speaks at the special exhibition's opening ceremony. Download The Standard app to stay informed with news, updates, and significant events - The upgraded app is now available on both iOS and Android platforms.
South China Morning Post
12-06-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong exhibition opens to mark fifth anniversary of national security law
An exhibition commemorating the fifth anniversary of the Beijing-imposed national security law has opened in Hong Kong, featuring video footage and images from three major social movements, with city officials urging residents to remain vigilant against threats. At the opening ceremony of the government-organised event on Thursday, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung noted that as of June 1, 326 people had been arrested under relevant national security laws, including the legislation required under Article 23 of the Basic Law, the city's mini-constitution, which was enacted in March last year. According to Tang, residents should stay vigilant against four major risks, which still exist despite the stability brought by the laws, including external forces that attempt to smear and sanction, exiled individuals who promoted 'Hong Kong independence', local terrorism and soft resistance. Secretary for Justice Paul Lam (left) and Secretary for Security Chris Tang. Photo: Elson Li During the same occasion, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok called on Hongkongers not to forget the history, ignore the reality, or stay aloof when national security threats emerge. 'National security risks are often not easily visible to the naked eye, but the facts are clear: hostile countries and forces are attempting to continuously suppress our country's development,' Lam said, pointing to 'a certain country' which attempted to interfere in Hong Kong's national security cases through illegal sanctions and levies. The entrance to the three-month thematic exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History is decorated with a so-called 'time tunnel' installation that showcases videos and pictures documenting destructive acts during the 2014 illegal Occupy Central movement, 2016 Mong Kok riot and 2019 anti-government protest. Chinese slogan 'not to forget, but yet to finish' was printed on the entrance wall before residents entered the second part of the exhibition, which featured the city's approach to unplugging the national security loopholes by enacting the Beijing-imposed national security law.
