Henry Litton

Opinion | For Hong Kong’s sake, the judiciary must regain Beijing’s trust

How did it come about that Beijing has developed such mistrust of the Hong Kong judiciary? The courts have put a slant on the Basic Law, by applying obscure norms and values from overseas which are totally unsuited to Hong Kong’s circumstances

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Why you can trust SCMP

Henry Litton

Published: 6:15am, 3 Sep 2020Updated: 6:58am, 3 Sep 2020

Recent events have made three matters blindingly obvious. First, Hong Kong’s cultural values and way of life have, over the past 170-odd years, evolved very differently from mainland China’s. The “one country, two systems” policy is the key to preserving those attributes and maintaining Hong Kong’s long-term prosperity, way beyond 2047.

Second, for the one country, two systems formula to work properly, there must be trust between the central government and the Hong Kong administration.

Third, as regards the functioning of the judiciary, it is obvious that Hong Kong has lost Beijing’s trust. Hence, Article 44 of the new national security law, which places responsibility for choosing judicial officers to handle national security cases with the chief executive, not the chief justice.

This is a pivotal time for Hong Kong. Decisions taken in the next few years will set its course forever. Hong Kong will either be a shining link in the Greater Bay Area to the outside world, or become a puny middle-sized city on the southern shores of China.

Consider the big picture. For hundreds of years, the Middle Kingdom was the undisputed economic and cultural centre of the world. It fell into decay during the latter days of the Qing dynasty but is now resurrecting, through much agony and hardship, its central role. It is also re-establishing, through the Belt and Road Initiative, the ancient trade connections between the Middle Kingdom and the other great civilisations, this time on a much wider scale.

Hong Kong is destined to play an important role in this grand enterprise, if only its people recognise this and reach out with confidence to the future, particularly the young.