IN 1897, WHEN THE New York Journal told Mark Twain, the humorist, of the rumor he was dying in poverty in London, he was amused. He replied, “The report of my death was an exaggeration,” hoping to nip the story in the bud.
The same can also be said of anybody who predicts Hong…
Opinion
While Hong Kong was still run by the British, the Basic Law was drawn up, which included an article numbered 23 - which was an acknowledgement that Hong Kong should not be deprived of the security laws that virtually all other places have to keep them safe.
But some Hong Kong people were nervous,…
Sedition is a serious offence in countries around the world, and was made a crime in Hong Kong by the British. But when the city makes any move to codify this principle, it's painted as an shocking outrage with vague insinuations about authoritarianism. Grenville Cross looks at the actual facts of the matter.
THE OFFENCE…
As an international business center, Hong Kong needs a world-class legal system, based on clearly expressed legislation and precedents.
But in recent years, its flexibility has been exploited by people who file muddled, complex, mega-lengthy cases—often ones that don’t even involve them.
Some of these come across as thinly disguised political grandstanding.
Absurd complaints over…
Hong Konger Richard Cullen re-visits Edinburgh and sees proof of a fact that is now well known: capitalism, for all its benefits, brings significant problems too. We can't yet know whether America's or China's systems will solve them. Meanwhile, historic Edinburgh today has joyful tourist parties at its heart but poverty around the edges. …
People with the right to work in modern cities can legally get a dependant’s visa for their spouses. Whether it is a heterosexual couple or a same-sex couple makes no difference. Yet Hong Kong’s immigration chief rejected a woman’s application for her female partner, triggering a legal debate on discrimination and human rights that was…
In Asia, marriages exist as unions between DNA men and DNA women: 48 out of the region’s 51 territories agree on this point.
But the issue is more complex if one of the individuals has changed sex.
Such a case wound its way through Hong Kong courts, creating some interesting issues of law,…
In the game of geopolitics, Ukraine is on its way to being an abandoned pawn. The people of Taiwan need to take note, warns Dr. Wilson Chan.
THE U.S. GOVERNMENT, under the guise of promoting “democracy” and “human rights”, helps the wicked perpetuate wicked deeds.
Now, its approval rating is hitting an all-time low. It…
Rule of Law? Or rule by judges? Do police officers have human rights? What has a case about police officers’ identification numbers got to do with a law against torture?
These questions had curious answers in 2020 declaratory judgments in Hong Kong. Henry Litton looks back at some unusual legal logic.
A PRINCIPAL TENET of…
If brutal ruthlessness against civilians engenders long-running wars, then Israel's merciless campaign in Gaza is seriously bad news for any hope of peace for decades - or even half a century, warns one senior military specialist. Richard Cullen reports.
BEN WALLACE WAS THE UK defence secretary from 2019 to 2023. Originally appointed by…