Lam hits back at 'shameless' scare tactics of US

Attempts by the United States to sanction him were expected, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok said as he hit at Washington for trying to pressure front-line prosecutors so others would not join the Department of Justice.

His comments came after the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China - a US agency that monitors human rights in the mainland - last week named Lam and 15 Hong Kong prosecutors in a report, calling on Washington and the international community to impose sanctions on them for "political prosecution" of activists.

The commission recommended sanctions on Lam as he is "widely expected to continue to oversee the tough prosecutorial approach of his predecessor, Teresa Cheng Yuek-wah, against opposition figures, activists and protesters."

Describing the report as "tyrannical, despicable and shameless," Lam said prosecutors were all angry about it.

"I had expected that they would come after me - it's all part of the job," he said. "[But] why would they target our front-line colleagues? They're only doing their job.

"You're trying to strong-arm prosecutors and discourage people from joining our team. But what I can say is, our colleagues have immediately become more united because they're so angry. Why bully us?"

He also likened the commission to "Gian," a primary antagonist in Japanese cartoon Doraemon.

Lam argued that in the two years since the national security law was passed no one has been prosecuted for criticizing the government, saying there is "nothing wrong with critiques or reminders" and that prosecutions depend on whether messages involved any "seditious intent" or "intent to incite hatred or overthrow the government."

Deciding whether an act is in contravention of the national security law is a process so complex that he said he "could not even explain it in a dissertation," Lam said. But it could be navigated with common sense, he added.

Lam also said criminal cases involving national security will adopt stricter standards for granting bail as conditions for Article 23 suspects will fall in line with those of the national security law once authorities enact the legislation.

He added that suspects prosecuted under the national security law will have their cases heard by three judges handpicked by the chief executive instead of a jury, but they will still have a fair trial.

Lam said too that the Department of Justice must act faster than during the previous administration if false accusations are made.

"If fake news is the virus then legal knowledge is the vaccine," he said. "We have to strengthen legal education, starting with the young ones."

Meanwhile, the League of Social Democrats has acted on material that could contravene the national security law.

League chairwoman Chan Po-ying said: "Facing enormous pressure, the League of Social Democrats has been forced to take down social media posts suspected of breaching the Hong Kong national security law.

"We are unable to reveal further details. The league will continue to speak out. No crime in free speech, long live democracy."

cjames.lee@singtaonewscorp.com