Hong Kong Law Society president resigns following no confidence vote
The president of the Hong Kong Law Society has resigned in the wake of a no confidence vote against him last week.
August 19, 2014 at 07:05 AM
3 minute read
The president of the Hong Kong Law Society has resigned in the wake of a no confidence vote against him last week.
The vote by Hong Kong lawyers followed comments Ambrose Lam made in June in support of a controversial white paper issued by the Chinese government.
Lam had angered many in the local legal community by making comments which appeared to support the Beijing white paper, which many felt threatened the autonomy of Hong Kong's judiciary.
The president initially defended himself against accusations that he was backing any move from Beijing to limit the independence of Hong Kong, saying that he only responded positively to what was a work report rather than a legal document, and that he had "stood firm against the scare-mongers within [Hong Kong's] community who said that the white paper changed or attempted to change Hong Kong's basic law".
However, Hong Kong's lawyers voted against Lam by 2,392 votes to 1,478 at last Thursday's extraordinary general meeting. They also voted in favour of a resolution requesting that Lam withdraw his statements on the white paper.
In addition, Law Society members also voted through a resolution stating that "the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary are the core values of Hong Kong and nothing set out in the (Beijing) white paper… shall detract from or undermine such core values."
In June, the Law Society had said that both the rule of law and judicial independence were "essential for maintaining the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems', as well as the stability an prosperity of Hong Kong".
Lam, meanwhile, issued a statement today saying he had tended his resignation "for the sake of the Law Society's unity".
Addressing members of the media, he added: "Although I might not be the president of the Law Society when I meet you next time, I will still express my view pertinently for those topics of public concerns (sic)."
The Law Society has named former vice-president Stephen Hung as its new president, with immediate effect.
Lam, the managing partner of local firm Lam Lee & Lai, was elected as the Hong Kong Law Society president in May last year. He had been a member of the 20 member Law Society council since 2004.
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