Patrick Poon, a founding member of the Asia Lawyers Network, has written the below editorial for the Asia Nikkei about the collapse of rule of law in Hong Kong and the proper role of Japan in combating it. The original article is available at the following link: https://asia.nikkei.com/Opinion/Hong-Kong-s-rule-of-law-has-been-derailed
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A relative of the convicts cried as she heard the sentencing of 45 Hong Kong pro-democracy figures at the Kowloon Law Courts Building on Nov. 19, 2024. © AP
Hong Kong's rule of law has been derailed
Nations like Japan should stand up and reject the tyranny of China
Patrick Poon
January 22, 2025 17:05 JST
Patrick Poon is a board member and consultant of the Tokyo-based Asian Lawyers Network and a member of Lady Liberty Hong Kong.
Several friends of mine in Hong Kong will face long-overdue trials this year. One of these is Chow Hang-tung, a barrister and a vice chairperson of the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (commonly known as the "Hong Kong Alliance"). She has had the courage to speak out while in detention, but what stands out more is her incomparable vision and determination in activism.
"A police state is created with the complicity of the court in endorsing [government] abuses. Such complicity must be stopped now," Chow argued in her latest appeal against a jail sentence for refusing to hand over information linked to vigil organizers at Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal.
While following the case of her and her codefendants and coleaders of the Hong Kong Alliance -- including Albert Ho and Lee Cheuk-yan -- it is hard not wonder if they are experiencing in Hong Kong the same lack of respect for evidentiary standards and procedural justice that we have seen in mainland Chinese courts.
Prosecutors in their case seem to talk about evidence, but they do so in a very biased manner. How can three Hong Kong residents be accused of being "foreign agents"?
Over 30 years, I took part in nearly all the annual candlelight vigils in Victoria Park to commemorate the Tiananmen crackdown. I also represented some small organizations with booths at events, where we collected donations from participants. Being the main organizer, the Hong Kong Alliance always received most of the donations, and that was how they maintained their operations. How could that be in any way considered acting as "foreign agents"? In order to demonstrate their loyalty to the state, prosecutors in Hong Kong have simply lost common sense, not to mention respect for legal principles.
All three of them are well aware of the procedural injustice in China as they have been long-time advocates for human rights defenders in China. It was only after the Hong Kong version of the National Security Law was forcibly imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020 that they realized they would also become the victims of such a draconian law.
I remember how my friends and I once joked about how mainland Chinese human rights lawyers and human rights defenders like Gao Zhisheng, Yu Wensheng, Xu Yan, Xu Zhiyong, Ding Jiaxi and Lu Siwei, among many others, could be accused of "subversion" and "inciting subversion" simply for expressing views online or discussing certain social and political issues over meals with friends. In Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan's case, they were arrested and later convicted merely because they were on their way to meet some European Union diplomats. For Xu Zhiyong and Ding Jiaxi, they took part in a gathering where they and other friends discussed political issues over a meal.
Looking at the trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, it is clear that Hong Kong judges are no longer professional or politically neutral. The judges in his trial were plainly political in asking partisan questions and making partisan comments in court, including questioning Lai for raising Hong Kong's situation with U.S. politicians, and challenging his position on China's relationship with Taiwan by using openly political rhetoric which characterized Taiwan as China's "son."
For those of us who live in democracies and liberal societies, such questions are distasteful. Advocacy and raising concerns with politicians should be part of our daily life and shouldn't be a basis for being charged on "national security" grounds.
As China Foreign Minister Wang Yi is expected to be visiting Japan in February, it is unlikely that Japanese officials will raise these cases and other human rights concerns in China and Hong Kong, as politicians in the West would do during such diplomatic visits. Placing economic talks over human rights legitimizes tyrannies like China, even as it continues to crackdown on citizens.
As a democracy, Japan should set an example to reject the tyranny of China only for economic reasons. It would be detrimental to geopolitical stability and security if Japan fails to respond to Beijing's practices that go against democratic values and the rule of law.
As long as Japan allows more Chinese to come to Japan while still failing to address China's human rights record, a culture of impunity will set in, China's abusive practices will become accepted, and Japan's values of constitutional democracy and human rights will be eroded. In fact, it's already happening as younger Japanese people are being culturally polluted by Chinese apps like TikTok.
Hong Kong's situation is rapidly changing for the worse right in front of us. It is time to act now.
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