Bar Should "mind Its Own Business": Holden Chow

DAB lawmaker Holden Chow has hit out at the Bar Association, accusing it of giving wrong and misleading comments on Beijing's proposed national security law for Hong Kong.

The Bar has questioned the draft law several times, most recently challenging the plan to give the Chief Executive the power to pick judges for national security cases. But speaking on RTHK's "Letter to Hong Kong", Chow, who's also a solicitor, accused the Bar of having a political agenda.

"Perhaps the Bar Association ought to keep a lid on its own political motives and mind their own business as a true professional body, reflecting professional opinion as opposed to biased political opinion," he said. "People never forget their so-called professional advice regarding the legality of the West Kowloon high-speed railway."

The Express Rail Link, which began operating in 2018 and connected Hong Kong to the mainland's high-speed rail network, was controversial because part of its terminus at West Kowloon became mainland territory for the purpose of customs clearance. The Bar had said this was against the Basic Law.

Chow also repeated the government's line that the arrangement over judge selection wouldn't harm judicial independence and that the vast majority of Hongkongers had nothing to worry about.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is widely expected to approve national security legislation for Hong Kong on Tuesday. Details of the law have not been revealed, although the state news agency Xinhua last week outlined its structure in a report.

On the teaching profession, Chow urged the Education Bureau to take tougher action against what he called unprofessional teachers, saying they were partly to blame for last year's social unrest. He alleged some teachers had incited hatred against the police.

Chow said these teachers should be blacklisted and their teaching materials should be made public for monitoring.