Hong Kong’s justice minister has refuted “unfounded” accusations against the judiciary regarding several highly charged national security cases, stating that none of the judges had failed to fulfil their duties and that their independence remains strong. In his address at a ceremony on Monday to mark the start of the legal year, Secretary for Justice Paul Lam Ting-kwok also slammed the threat of sanctions against the city’s judges and “illegitimate pressures” placed on overseas judges to...

Hong Kong’s rule of law is “more robust and enduring than the outcome of any single case”, the city’s chief justice has declared after former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was found guilty in a landmark national security case that drew international scrutiny and criticism. In his speech at a ceremony to mark the opening of the legal year on Monday, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung Kui-nung warned that any calls for the early release of a defendant based on his occupation or political causes were a...