DoJ To Speed Up Law Adaptation Work

Secretary for Justice Paul Lam on Wednesday said the administration will speed up its work in amending outdated ordinances, as he also warned of escalating attacks from the West on Hong Kong's laws and judicial system.

Writing in the Ta Kung Pao newspaper, Lam said it is not ideal that some pieces of legislation introduced before the reunification that are no longer applicable have yet to be amended, 25 years after the city's return to the motherland.

He said since the end of last year, the Department of Justice has actively studied with relevant policy bureaus more than 70 pieces of legislation that need to be adapted.

Part of the adaptation work will gradually be completed within this year, Lam said, adding that it would be done with an approach of "resolving the simple issues before moving on to the difficult ones".

The justice minister also warned that even though the SAR has entered a new stage of advancing from stability to prosperity, it does not mean national security risks have disappeared.

He pointed out that some Western countries continue to slander Hong Kong's legal and judicial systems, and even maliciously attack court judgements.

"We must not naively think that these malicious acts will decrease or stop. Instead, we must prepare with bottom-line thinking to face attacks that could intensify, especially when there will be a number of key national security trials this year. We must strengthen our defence and fight back, both internally and externally," he wrote.

Lam said the Department of Justice will squarely face the unfair and malicious criticism of Hong Kong by some Western media and politicians.

He added that the administration is taking the initiative to tell the true story of Hong Kong's rule of law and legal system, as it prepares visits to Europe and Southeast Asia this year.