London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Sep 21, 2025

Cheng hits out at MP's 'absurd' comments

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng yesterday hit back at a British MP for having called on the UK authorities to remove British judges from Hong Kong.
In an open letter, Cheng said Hong Kong's judicial independence is based on the "solid infrastructure" that has been laid down in the basic law, and that the national security law clearly stipulates the rights and freedoms of Hong Kong residents.

Cheng's remarks came after Britain's parliament member Alistair Carmichael wrote an article published by The Times on October 14 calling for the removal of British judges from the SAR, alleging the national security law violates human rights.

In an open letter written to The Times, Cheng rebutted the "absurd and misleading comments" on Hong Kong's legal system.

"Judicial independence is premised on the solid infrastructure that has been laid down in the basic law," Cheng said. "All judges are required to administer justice without fear or favor."

She also said the national security law, implemented in June last year, has clearly specified the elements of each offense, which has "the same standard of proof just like any other criminal offences."

The rights and freedoms of Hong Kong people are not absolute and may be subject to restrictions prescribed by law necessarily in the interests of national security, said Cheng.

"Similar provisions are commonly found under the national security laws in foreign jurisdictions. It is appalling to see that some politicians have deliberately vilified it in an attempt to mislead the international community," she said.

"The national security law does not in any way affect judicial independence. The appellate system in Hong Kong ensures that justice is properly administered and due process is observed."

Carmichael, co-chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for Hong Kong, has said that the president of Britain's Supreme Court as well as the Foreign Secretary should remove British judges from Hong Kong.

That is because the presence of British judges in Hong Kong courts lends a false veneer of respectability to the justice system that is no longer just, said Carmichael.

He cited the exodus of thousands of Hong Kong protesters and the recent early retirement of former district judge Sham Siu-man, who will move to the United Kingdom with his family after acquitting defendants in two rulings and being "vilified by the city's pro-Beijing media."

As Hong Kong judges are joining the exodus, it is another milestone reached, marking the final nail in the coffin for the territory's independent court, Carmichael said.

He also said the national security law is a "gross violation of human rights" that undermines the basic law - Hong Kong's mini-constitution - adding that it has also been applied retroactively, with defendants being held without bail and special judges being assigned to the cases.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Alibaba Debuts Open-Source Deep Research Agent with Benchmarks Rivaling OpenAI
Marcos Faces Legacy-Defining Crisis as Flood Projects Scandal Sparks Massive Tide of Protests
China’s Micro-Drama Boom Turns Stalled Real Estate Projects into Lavish Film Sets
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
'Company Got 5,189 H-1B Visas, Then Laid Off 16,000 Americans': US Defends New $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Golf legend tells Omar she should be 'sent back to Somalia' after her Kirk comments
EU Set to Bar Big Tech from New Financial Data Access Scheme
China Bans Livestreaming and AI in Religion Amid Crackdown on Shaolin Temple Scandal
Documents Reveal Mandelson Failed to Declare Epstein-Funded Flights as MP in 2003
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Harris Memoir Sparks Backlash from Democrats for Blunt Critiques in ‘107 Days’
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Japan’s ‘Death-Tainted’ Homes Gain Appeal as Prices Soar in Tokyo
Massive Attack Withdraws from Spotify Over Daniel Ek’s €600M Defence-AI Investment
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders Third Lethal Strike on Drug-Trafficking Vessel as U.S. Expands Maritime Counter-Narcotics Operations
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
Why Google Search Is Fading and AI Is Taking Its Place
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Federal Judge Dismisses Trump’s Fifteen-Billion-Dollar Suit Against New York Times, Orders Refile
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
DeepSeek Claims R1 Model Trained for only $294,000, Sparking Global Debate Over China’s AI Capabilities
SoftBank Vision Fund to Cut Nearly Twenty Percent of Staff in Bold AI Strategy Shift
Intel’s Next-Gen Manufacturing Gets a Lifeline from Nvidia’s Strategic $5B Deal
Erika Kirk Elected CEO of Turning Point USA After Husband Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
Massive Strikes in France Pressure Macron and New PM on Austerity Proposals
Trump Seeks Supreme Court Permission to Remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook
Hillary Clinton’s Reckless Rhetoric Fuels Division After Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
NASDAQ Rises to Record as Intel Soars More Than 20%, Nvidia Gains 3%
Nvidia’s $5 Billion Bet on Intel Reshapes AI Hardware Landscape
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Trump’s Quip on Biden and Google Lawsuit Revives Debate Over Antitrust Legacy
Macron and his wife to provide 'scientific photographic evidence' that she is a real woman
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
×