Beijing loyalists target Hong Kong judges after protester acquittals
08 November, 2020
The acquittal of a large number of Hong Kong protesters - often accompanied by withering court criticism of police - has triggered a backlash from Beijing loyalists demanding an overhaul of a judicial system long known because of its independence.
Hong Kong owes a lot of its success as a financial hub to its transparent legal system.
Unlike China's judicial structure - where opaque courts are party-controlled and convictions all but guaranteed - Hong Kong's is internationally respected.
But as Beijing cracks down following last year's huge and often violent protests, judges are actually finding themselves in the crossfire of the city's festering political divide.
A lot of that criticism originates from a pro-establishment bloc infuriated by acquittals or perceived light sentences for protesters.
Ta Kung Pao and Wen Wei Po - two staunchly pro-Beijing newspapers located in Hong Kong - have led the charge, publishing articles calling for judicial reform and deriding "yellow judges" - the color linked to the protest movement.
Prominent local pro-Beijing politicians have joined in, calling certain judges biased, and lobbying for the creation of a sentencing committee to impose harsher jail terms.
"DOG JUDGE"
In October, graffiti daubed in red paint appeared on a wall reading in Chinese: "Police arrested people however the 'dog judge' released them."
That message targeted former magistrate Stanley Ho, who had recently acquitted two people of assaulting police.
Ho slammed two testifying officers for "telling lies to cover lies", and said the force used against those they arrested was "completely unnecessary".
District councillor Jocelyn Chau, among the two exonerated, remains furious about the trial and months spent on bail.
Hong Kong district councillor Jocelyn Chau remains furious about her trial and months spent on bail before her acquittal. (Photo: AFP/PHILIP FONG)
"The long wait, the pressure you face from members of the family and friends when you go through the trial, are unnecessary sufferings," she told AFP.
"Yet, the officers who lied face no consequences."
Testimony or evidence from police in at least 27 protest cases has been dismissed by magistrates as either unreliable, contradictory or not credible, and led to acquittal, according to an AFP tally predicated on local media reports.
No officer has been disciplined for evidence given on the stand. A police spokesperson said any court complaint about an officer would be handled "in a good and impartial manner".
Greater than 10,000 persons arrested at protests, about 2,300 cases have gone on to some sort of judicial proceedings with 331 convictions, according to Hong Kong police statistics.
Charges have been withdrawn in another 42 cases, and 65 cases have ended in acquittal.
"POLITICAL PRESSURE"
Antony Dapiran, a Hong Kong legal professional and writer of two books on the city's protest movements, said the acquittals show the courts are doing their job.
"These cases show both political pressure that prosecutors must be under to bring every case to court ... and the independence of Hong Kong's judiciary in continuing to throw these cases out," he told AFP.
"However, this will inevitably result in more attacks on Hong Kong's independent judiciary from Beijing and its own supporters," he added.
Pro-democracy supporters also have criticised some judgements and sentences, especially via social media comments, but no major opposition figure has called for overhauling the judiciary.
Last week, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam criticised "unjustified attacks" against judges and called on persons to respect court decisions "no matter her or his political stance".
The judiciary in addition has taken up to publishing several trial transcripts and judgements by magistrates accused of favouring protesters in a bid showing how decisions were reached.
Still, a lot of those exonerated by trial feel angry about their ordeals.
Lee Sheung-chun, who was simply acquitted of assaulting police, spent nearly a year under a bail curfew along with his passport confiscated.
"The past year was unhappy, worrisome and nerve-wracking," the 32-year-old warehouse worker said.
His defence lawyers unearthed video that contradicted the police's story and a magistrate ruled the testimony of three officers in court was unreliable.
"There are many cases out there with no video. One should be aware that the responsibility of proof lies with the prosecution," Lee's attorney Wong Ying-kei told AFP.
"We need to remind the judges and prosecution that cases where police give false testimony do exist. We have to hold them accountable."
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