Letters | German asylum for Ray Wong and Alan Li is an attack on Hong Kong’s justice system

The rule of law being a treasured cornerstone of Hong Kong society, Germany has no grounds to suggest the pair would not receive a fair trial over their involvement in a 2016 riot

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Ray Wong (left) and Alan Li speak to journalists at an event on June 4 in Berlin, organised by Germany’s Green party to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:30am, 6 Jun 2019Updated: 7:30am, 6 Jun 2019

Hong Kong has always been proud of its rule of law. Our justice system was ranked 16th by the World Justice Project in its 2019 report, three places ahead of that of the US.

The German decision to grant refugee status to Ray Wong Toi-yeung and Alan Li Tung-sing, two fugitives charged with serious criminal offences in connection with their involvement in the Mong Kok riots in early 2016 and who had jumped bail, is a frontal attack on Hong Kong’s justice system.

Given that, under the 1951 Refugee Convention, a refugee is defined as someone who has a “well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion”, the German decision is tantamount to saying that Wong and Li are being prosecuted for their political opinions and that they will not have access to a fair and open trial upon their return to Hong Kong.

News of the German decision has given rise to widespread concern and dismay in Hong Kong, given that the rule of law is a highly treasured cornerstone of our society, and our distinguishing characteristic under “one country, two systems”.

I am glad that Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor sent for the acting German consul general to lodge our protest and seek an explanation. Why has the Hong Kong Bar Association, which has regularly spoken robustly in defence of the rule of law, stayed silent?