Report On Judges Just Speculation: Matthew Cheung

The Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung said on Wednesday that a report that foreign judges will be barred from dealing with cases under a new national security law is just speculation and details will only be known after the NPC approves the relevant draft.

On Tuesday, Reuters quoted sources as saying that under the new law, foreign judges in Hong Kong would no longer be able to handle national security cases.

The Court of Final Appeal has 15 foreign judges, from places like Britain, Canada and Australia. All serve as non-permanent members of the court, which means they are called on periodically to sit on cases.

But when asked about the report of a ban on these judges from certain cases, the top Hong Kong official said: "There are no details as of now. Anything you heard in the media is just speculation. We cannot comment, we can only tell the public once the details are out."

Cheung hit out at some countries which expressed concerns over the new law being imposed in Hong Kong by the central government, saying they are being unfair.

He also said the SAR's status as an international financial hub won't be affected by the new law.

Cheung also said he hopes people can discuss the national anthem law rationally, and there would be no chaos in Legco when lawmakers take up the bill.

The chief secretary said that Hong Kong has a constitutional responsibility to enact the national anthem law, and that after over a year of discussion in Legco, he hopes there will be some progress towards passing the legislation.

"The national anthem is just 46 seconds long … people in every country on the earth would stand solemnly when the national anthem is played,” he said. “Then why couldn't our country's anthem be treated the same way?"

He said the public need not worry about the law because it would only penalise those who openly insult the "March of the Volunteers".

Critics and opposition parties have disputed the definition of "insult" in the draft bill, saying the vagueness could be used to enable political vendettas.

Legco was expected to resume the second reading of the national anthem law on Wednesday afternoon and to pass the law on June 4.