Paul Lam urges Hong Kong to weather criticism
Thestandard · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Justice Secretary Paul Lam Ting-kwok said on Sunday that Hong Kong must face continued political statements from Western governments and make its own position clear, after 10 countries including the United States and Britain issued a joint statement over Joshua Wong Chi-fung’s national security sentence. He said the city should remain an international city within the nation by standing firm through external pressure.
Key Points
- Lam was responding to a joint statement by 10 nations, including the United States and Britain, over the 10-year prison sentence imposed on former Demosisto secretary-general Joshua Wong Chi-fung.
- Wong was sentenced to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, according to Lam’s remarks on Sunday.
- Lam said Hong Kong could not expect Western governments to stay silent on political events and could only state its own position clearly.
- He said Western countries might not accept changes to Hong Kong’s international status as China develops, and that the city must “stand at the bow” and weather the storm.
- On the International Organization for Mediation, Lam said the government wants to include it as a dispute-resolution option in international commercial contracts and HKSAR agreements, though no cases have yet been implemented.
Why It Matters
Lam’s comments indicate the government expects sustained overseas criticism over politically sensitive court cases and is framing Hong Kong’s response around resilience rather than silence from foreign capitals. Separately, his remarks on the International Organization for Mediation show an official effort to build up Hong Kong’s role in cross-border dispute resolution, even though implementation has not yet begun.