The recent high-profile national security cases held in open court were “open and fair”, demonstrating Hong Kong’s strong commitment to the open justice principle that reinforces the rule of law and solidifies the public’s faith in the city’s judiciary, a legal expert has said.
In an interview with China Daily, barrister Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok, who heads the executive council of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, said, “In any event, open court is a feature that supports the rule of law.”
He added: “Justice should be done and seen to be done; and if the public considers the trial a fair trial, the public will have confidence in our judicial system, and that confidence is an important part of the rule of law.”
He was referring to the ongoing trial against the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and the group’s former leaders, as well as the conviction of Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, founder of the now-defunct tabloid Apple Daily, for two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a third count of conspiracy to print seditious articles in December 2025.
Ma noted that national security cases are rarely tried in open court — often kept closed and potentially opaque to safeguard State secrets — yet the ongoing case against the alliance has been a transparent proceeding given the “very public” nature of the group’s past activities that had rendered a closed courtroom needless.
Opened on Thursday, the trial is slated to run for 75 days, with the prosecution’s case centered on the group’s alleged incitement to subvert state power during a 14-month period from July 1, 2020 — a single day after the Hong Kong SAR National Security Law (NSL) took effect— through Sep 8, 2021.
In court, Albert Ho Chun-yan, 74, the alliance’s former vice-chairman, entered a guilty plea. The ex-chairman Lee Cheuk-yan, 68, another former vice-chair Tonyee Chow Hang-tung, 40, and Priscilia Lam Tsz-ying SC, the alliance’s legal representative, pleaded not guilty.
ALSO READ: Western apologists badly mischaracterize Jimmy Lai’s case
Opening the case, Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Ned Lai Ka-yee accused Ho and his accomplices of persistent efforts to end the leadership of the Communist Party of China, thereby posing a direct threat to the nation’s constitutional order and, by extension, national security.
A conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
“For the public, an open court means access to the courtroom,” said Ma, “therefore to be able to listen to all the evidence presented by the prosecution, all the defense claimed by the defendants, the judges’ questions and how they come to a decision, feel the aroma of the court, the atmosphere of the court, the subtlety of the court.”
“It is beneficial to the audience who really want to have a clear understanding of the case,” he said.
Open-court proceedings for Hong Kong’s national security trials have also sent a clear signal to the Western media, Ma said, which had taken to “wrongly” criticizing the proceedings and verdict in the Jimmy Lai case for eroding freedom of speech in Hong Kong.
“Freedom of speech is not an ‘absolute right’ — status belongs to rights like life and freedom from torture,” Ma said, emphasizing that speech rights are lawfully limited to protect other rights, with national security marking a clear red line under public law.
Hong Kong’s historical links, Western influence, and bilingual status make it vulnerable to “being used as a base to destabilize the rule of the Chinese government”, the barrister noted, “so we need the law to protect ourselves from being used in such a way.”
Ma said the NSL has proved “very effective” in returning the city to peace after social turmoil.
Looking ahead, this restored stability is also a vital prerequisite for the city’s future prosperity, he added, as a stable political climate and robust rule of law are what will attract and secure the long-term business investment essential for Hong Kong’s continued success.
Contact the writer at wanqing@chinadailyhk.com
