Screenshot from American Bar Association's website.
From Doctor of Philosophy to Barrister
“I stand the law's good servant but the people's first. For the law must serve the people, not the people the law.”
This is Hong Kong barrister Margaret Ng's closing remark, when she was tried for organising and participating in an "unauthorized assembly" on 18 August, 2019, together with eight other prominent pro-democracy activists. This statement sums up her lifelong belief, a belief which has led her to leave the ivory tower of academia, become a columnist, literary critic, journalist, barrister, legislator and defendant.
Born in Hong Kong in 1948, Margaret Ng came from a relatively well-off family. Journalist Eva Chan notes that it was around this time that outstanding Chinese intellectuals, escaping the Communist regime, sought shelter in Hong Kong to preserve traditional culture, and the well-educated wives of the British colonial officers accompanied their husbands to work in Hong Kong. These two very different types of people both became teachers in Hong Kong and cultivated a new generation of well-educated Hong Kong people. Ng was privileged enough to learn from them.
She first studied philosophy and comparative literature at the University of Hong Kong, before obtaining a Ph.D. from Boston University in 1976. She then returned to Hong Kong where she worked as an administrator at the University and in a bank. She also wrote political columns for the South China Morning Post and The Standard, the two most prominent English newspapers in Hong Kong. Her deep understanding of current affairs, concise writing style, and position as one of the few locals who could write so well in English, got her repeated invites to meet with the Governors of Hong Kong (first Sir Murray MacLehose and later Sir Edward Youde) to brief them on the new generation's views of Hong Kong's future. Dr Ng was appointed to a number of public positions, such as member of the Shatin District Council, and the Citizens Advisory Committee on Community Relations of the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
“Between my generation and today's generation, the biggest difference is... the Hong Kong Governor at that time was a decision maker, not a puppet governor under the British government. It means we could influence somebody, who could make decisions. Now, that person [the Chief Executive] has no say. The young people cannot influence her and feel powerless.” Dr Ng recalls.
In 1980, the British government proposed to pass a new nationality law (British Nationality Act 1981), which states that those born in Hong Kong on or after 1983 to a parent settled in Hong Kong are British Dependent Territories Citizens, without the right of abode in the United Kingdom. Dr Ng found this move violated the moral responsibility to the British residents born in Hong Kong. She started to study related legal provisions and wrote articles which criticised this law. This began her journey to later becoming a legal professional.
In 1983, she longed for a change in her career and went to Cambridge to study law. She thought a law degree could improve her chances in the job market and she was aware that where “there is suffering and injustice in the world, the law can lift up some injustice and reduce our suffering." At the time the governments of the United Kingdom and China were negotiating the future of Hong Kong. During her study, Dr Ng also wrote articles for Hong Kong newspapers, reporting and commentimarng on the progress of the negotiations. When she learned that the British government had agreed to hand over both rights on sovereignty and governance in Hong Kong to China after 1997, she wrote "Now We Stand Alone" in March 1984 - calling on Hong Kong people to take charge of the future of Hong Kong and be prepared for a lasting struggle. A few months before the signing of the drafted Sino-British Joint Declaration, Dr Ng and more than 100 others published a joint statement in newspapers, stating that "we accept the challenges of the times". Reading it again some 30 years later, Dr Ng joked that she could have been the first generation of localists.
Dr Ng graduated from Cambridge University in 1985 and qualified to practice law in Hong Kong in 1988. Unlike other lawyers, she did not start practising until 1990. Due to her established standing in the press, she served as the deputy editor-in-chief of Ming Pao Daily (a Chinese newspaper which was popular among the middle class), believing that freedom of the press was crucial to the future of Hong Kong. At the same time, she published a series of studies on Jin Yong's literature. Dr Ng was regarded as the earliest expert in Jin's works.
Safeguarding the Rule of Law in the Legislative Council
In 1995 she ran for the legal functional constituency of Legislative Council (hereafter: LegCo). The Common Law is generally described as the law of liberty, of freedom and of free peoples. Although legal professionals generally regarded the election through functional constituencies as unfair, they still preferred a like-minded legislator to somebody who might harm the rule of law from their own sector. Therefore, Ms Ng won the election and became a legislator, with a mission to safeguard the rights and freedoms of citizens, to prevent other legislators from undermining the rule of law, and to safeguard the legal system and consolidate the rule of law.
It turned out to be a long 18-year mission in the LegCo. For 17 of those years, she chaired the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services, where she was responsible for reviewing policy relating to the administration of justice and legal services, including land allocation, expenditure on court buildings, legal aid, legal services and education. These included the promotion of an ancillary legal aid scheme which included: providing assistance to unrepresented litigants, adding more personalised assistance, and free community legal consultation. In 2002, Senior Counsel Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and herself proposed to cooperate with non-profit organisations in establishing a community legal service centre in order to provide timely and helpful legal advice to the public. The government did not accept this motion, but this idea may have inspired her to become a trustee of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, which provided humanitarian and relevant financial support to persons who were injured, arrested, attacked or threatened with violence during protests in 2019. Together with other pro-democracy figures, she was convicted of failing to register the relief fund as a society and was fined HKD4,000 on 25 November 2022. Margaret Ng said it was the first case with such a charge under the Societies Ordinance. She said the consequences of the case were very important to those in the city. “The freedom of assembly in Hong Kong is also of great importance under the (operations of) Societies Ordinance.” Ng added. On 13 December 2022, the five convicted trustees, including Ng filed an appeal against their conviction.
Another extremely significant but little-known fact about Hong Kong's legal history is that in the years before and after the Handover of Hong Kong, the government strove for a bilingual legal system. The Department of Justice was responsible for this task, appointing experts from the fields of translation, Chinese language and law to form a committee to compile the Chinese version of the laws. It was at the time that Dr Ng had been freshly elected as a legislator and she got a seat in the committee. She recalled that "the committee met every Saturday, a few small bamboo baskets with packets of salted crackers were placed on the meeting table. When we got hungry, we ate these crackers and drank some water, to replenish our strength and continue to argue." She believes that in legal translation, apart from carefully scrutinising the meaning of the original words, cultural and social elements must also be considered, otherwise there would be ambiguity between Chinese and English laws. Despite the government's urgency to implement the "Chinese Court", most of the judges were non-Chinese, with barristers and lawyers accustomed an English-speaking environment; the common law used in Hong Kong, from the original text and casebooks, were all in English. It was incredibly difficult to translate all these into a Chinese version that fully expresses their original meaning in just a few years. She was known as an opponent in the committee, pointed out that promoting a bilingual legal system in such a hurry could be detrimental to the interests of Chinese-speaking public. If the trial had to be conducted in Chinese, the number of lawyers that litigants could choose from and the number of judges who could try the case would be greatly reduced. In other words, the principle of fairness would be harmed in the long run. Yet for Beijing and the Hong Kong governments, the Handover was not only about the return of sovereignty, but also about the return of language, culture and system. They saw this form of "political correctness" as an absolute truth and no challenge was allowed. What made Dr Ng the most worried was, if this ideological commitment prevailed, the employment and promotion of legal professionals would be based on language and ethnicity, rather than their professionalism. Her outspokenness attracted criticism that she was acting for the interests of foreign judges and lawyers, instead of justice for the local Hong Kong people.
Judging from the situation in Hong Kong thirty years later, it is difficult not to admire Dr Ng's foresight.
Final Speech at the LegCo: Refuting Xi Jinping's Theory on Judicial Cooperation
At the age of 64 and after serving for 18 years, Ms Ng decided not to run for the LegCo election in 2012. In her final speech, she solemnly stressed that Hong Kong's most important asset is judicial independence, which is also its biggest difference from China. She criticised Xi Jinping’s comment on his visit to Hong Kong in 2008, as the then vice-president of China and head of the Central Coordination Group for Hong Kong and Macao Affairs, that the "theory of the cooperation of three powers" demanded “mutual understanding and support among the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary“. At that time, the Hong Kong Bar Association issued a statement reaffirming “ the judiciary in Hong Kong has always been, and under the Basic Law it shall remain, separate and independent from the Executive and the Legislature. It is not, and should not be regarded as, part of the governance team.”
Dr Ng emphasised in her last speech, "whether the government's action is legal or not, it must comply with independent judicial rulings. It is the core of the rule of law." She described Xi Jinping's remarks as extremely dangerous, because "state leaders do not make jokes, Xi Jinping's words are not his spontaneous personal opinion, but a national policy line." She reminded the government to lead by example, protect the judicial independence, respect the courts, and free the judges from fear and submission before the government.
Unfortunately the government ignored her advice and intensified the violation of judicial independence. The five interpretations of the law conducted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress undermined the spirit of the rule of law and judicial independence in Hong Kong and the adjudication power of its local court. In response, the Hong Kong Bar Association contended that “the perception of the international community in the authority and independence of the judiciary is liable to be undermined, as would public confidence in the rule of law in Hong Kong.”
In recent years, pro-Beijing legislators, state-controlled newspapers and public figures have kept criticising the courts' rulings, and even denounced some judges as “yellow judges” — the colour associated with the democracy movement - and accused them of “setting the thugs [protestors] free”. Dr Ng found such labelling improper. In her view, a judge should not be labeled by his political stance, but whether his judgment provides reasoned decisions, so that the prosecutor, defendant and the public can understand what evidence and legal principles the court has taken into account in delivering the verdict. A good judge should avoid long waiting times for trial and sentences, demonstrate judicial independence and procedural justice.
After the implementation of the National Security Law (hereafter: NSL) in 2020, suspects facing political and so-called national security charges are often detained without bail, some even behind bars for years without knowing the date of trial. This runs counter to Dr Ng's ideal vision.
Loyal Servant of the Law for Life
Since her retirement (during which time she became a proficient baker - even writing a cookbook), Dr Ng has focused on writing her memoir. Published in 2018, in Under the Keystone (拱心石下──從政十八年), she cited a large number of government documents, meeting minutes, correspondence, and personal memos, to recount her experience as a legislator between 1995 and 2012. Many significant cases, such as the interpretation of the right of abode in Hong Kong and the legislation of Article 23, were included in her memoir; she hopes to leave a record for the next generation while her memory is still intact and the regime has not completely re-written or wiped out history.
In June 2019 the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill Movement broke out in Hong Kong. The 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund was established to provide humanitarian support, including medical costs, psychological /mental counselling costs, criminal /civil legal costs and emergency financial relief to all people who were arrested (regardless of charges), injured or affected during the protests. Together with Cardinal Joseph Zen, scholar Dr. Po-Keung Hui, singer Denise Ho, and former legislator Cyd Ho, Dr Ng became a trustee of this fund. As of February 2020, the fund helped more than 10,000 victims. Dr Ng made no secret of drawing attention to the suffering of the rule of law: "The police have the right to use force under the law, so they must be bound by the law. Yet they violated all legal constraints and used excess and unchecked force against the citizens of Hong Kong, it is the greatest threat and damage to the rule of law."
Therefore, despite the risk of “violating the law”, she participated in a rally in Victoria Park on 18 August 2019, which was not approved by the police, demanding the withdrawal of the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill and a thorough investigation of police brutality. She ended up with the first detention and indictment of her 72-year life. Afterwards, she said that even as a barrister, she was lost for words when she was kept in custody and realised the true importance of lawyers. She hopes that all Hong Kong people can enjoy the same legal rights. On 16 April 2021, she delivered a closing statement in court, which is considered one of the most inspiring speeches for legal practitioners. On the same day, she was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, for “organising or participating in an unauthorised assembly”. In July 2021, she received the International Human Rights Award from the American Bar Association.
We are not in a Position to Give Up
After the implementation of the NSL in 2020, outspoken media outlets such as "Apple Daily", "Stand News", "Citizen News"; and civil society organisations groups such as "612 Humanitarian Relief Fund” and "Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China", have been suppressed and forced to disband. Many of those associated with these organisations face spurious charges, including Dr Ng.
In 2021, the Hong Kong police launched an investigation into the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund for allegedly violating the NSL, requesting the fund hand over information on its donors and beneficiaries. The fund was forced to dissolve in October 2021. The fund is charged with not properly registering under the societies ordinance, a colonial-era law from 1911.
On 29 December, 2021, Dr Ng, as a former director of "Stand News", was detained with a group of senior staff members, on suspicion of "conspiracy to publish seditious publications". In May 2022, the police arrested all five trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund for "collusion with foreign forces", an offence under the NSL, which could come with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. In both arrests, Dr Ng filed petitions at the High Court to request the court to order the police to return the seized exhibits involving legal professional privilege (LPP) and information that is not within the scope of a court warrant. She also required the court to impose an injunction order to prohibit the police from accessing and using the above-mentioned information and demanded compensation from the police.
Although she may be prosecuted at any time and defendants involved in the NSL are often not granted bail, Dr Ng still tirelessly practises as a barrister, serving as the defence lawyer for 47 pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong who are charged with "conspiracy to subversion" under the NSL, for organising a primary election in 2020.
Dr Ng keeps saying, “I hate to hear the phrase 'The rule of law is dead'. Such a phrase means nothing. If the rule of law is important to us, to our next generation and to our society, then we have to fight for it... we are not in a position to give up.”
Background Information on Margaret Ng's case
Case: Failing to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, under the Societies Ordinance, within one month of its establishment
Sentence / Fine: a fine of HKD4,000
Offense: "Failure to apply for registration or exemption from registration of a society within the specified time limit"
Date of conviction: 25 November 2022
Magistrate: Principal Magistrate Ada Yim
Related Documents: Verdict (Chinese Only) ; Press summary (English)
Remark:
1) The case is significant to freedom of association in Hong Kong. On December 13, 2022, the five trustees, including Margaret Ng, lodged an appeal against the conviction.
2) The case involves 5 trustees of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund (Cardinal and Bishop Emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong Joseph Zen, barrister Margaret Ng, singer Denise Ho, scholar Hui Po-keung and former lawmaker Cyd Ho)
Case No.: HCMA446/2022 (WKS4829-4833/2022)