Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal sends Jimmy Lai back in custody

18:19, December 31, 2020

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  Bail for HKSAR rioter raises questions

  Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying arrives at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong, Sept 3, 2020.Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, one of those responsible for instigating rioting in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, was released on bail by the high court last week. Lai was earlie

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  Observer: Approving Jimmy Lai ’s bail harmful to Hong Kong’s rule of law

  Hong Kong’s High Court on December 23 granted bail to Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, a Hong Kong riot instigator who was suspected of violating the national security law for Hong Kong and conspiring to commit fraud.The news immediately shocked the public. People from different sectors in Hong Kong, including many legal professionals, voiced their opposition. The Department of Justice of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government resolutely lodged an appeal. Only a few rioters welcomed it. There is widespread suspicion both inside and outside Hong Kong that who could be responsible if Lai, who was charged with a felony, jumps bail or continues to cause chaos in Hong Kong during bail.Making a ruling based on the law is a basic principle of the rule of law and a criterion that judges must follow. Lai has been charged with multiple crimes, including violating the national security law. According to the law’s Article 42, “No bail shall be granted to a criminal suspect or defendant unless the judge has sufficient grounds for believing that the criminal suspect or defendant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security.”The article is very clear that “no bail shall be granted” is the norm unless under special circumstances where the judge does not “have grounds for believing” but must “have sufficient grounds for believing” that the suspect will not continue to be evil after being released on bail. It means that granting bail is an exception, and the threshold is so high in order to prevent suspects from continuing to endanger national security during bail. Lai is notorious and extremely dangerous, but he has become the first person to be granted bail among all the suspects arrested in Hong Kong on charges of breaching the national security law. After the national security law was enacted, if a Hong Kong riot instigator like Lai can be released on bail, who else cannot?Even so, the opposition jumped out again to slander the bail conditions as "t...

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  New Year wishes for Hong Kong as brighter future beckons

  A flag-raising ceremony is held at Golden Bauhinia Square to celebrate the 23rd anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China on July 1, 2020. Some people complain that it has eroded Hong Kong's freedoms. But I have no doubt that Hong Kong from 2021 on will head toward a brighter future.