HK Bar Association urged to halt anti- China chairman’s tenure

The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong urged the Hong Kong Bar Association to terminate the tenure of anti- China politician Paul Harris, chairman of the association, as the latter defended and glorified violence, and warned the association not to walk further down the path of politicization or it risked going down an “abyss.”

Harris recently spread rumors about the cases handled by a court in Hong Kong, making excuses for lawbreakers, smearing law enforcers and pressuring judiciary personnel, which sparked outrage in Hong Kong society especially within the legal sector in Hong Kong, a spokesperson of the liaison office of the central government in Hong Kong said Sunday.

Harris who defended some antigovernment figures including Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai claimed they were “protecting freedom” in Hong Kong, according to media reports in February.

As a senior lawyer, Harris turned a blind eye toward violent incidents following the massive protests amid anti- extradition bill unrest, used socalled “peaceful protests” to disguise the essence of the riot and accused verdicts by courts and attacked the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and the Hong Kong Police Force, the liaison office spokesperson said.

As he takes the British judicial system as a model and the UK government has been recently pushing forward the law amendment in enhancing police authority in managing the protests, including sentencing protesters who damage monumental structures to up to 10 years of imprisonment, why did not Harris criticize those who “deprive the rights of peaceful protests” in the UK, the Chinese official asked.

As a member of the Liberal Democrats, Harris serves the interests of the British political party, and as founder of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor, he received donations from US non- governmental organization National Endowment for Democracy, media reported previously.

How could Harris as an anti- China political figure who is closely connected with foreign countries carry out principles in the association’s declaration, the spokesperson said.

Harris was voted up and he needs to be voted down, said Lawrence Ma, barrister and chairman at Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, noting that the challenges are many members of the bar association are politically anti- establishment and a motion to vote Harris out might not carry.