Candidate withdraws from Hong Kong lawyer group election over security fears

HONG KONG, Aug.21 (Reuters) – A board member of a professional group of lawyers in Hong Kong dropped his candidacy for re-election next week on Saturday, fearing for his safety and that of his family.

Tuesday’s elections for the Law Society, a professional and regulatory body for 12,000 lawyers, come as critics say the global financial center’s legal system faces pressure from a Chinese-imposed national security law .

Although officials in Hong Kong and Beijing have dismissed these concerns, the normally low-key polls have drawn unusual levels of scrutiny from pro-Beijing media and senior city officials.

Beijing has tightened its control over Hong Kong, the freest city in China since Britain surrendered the former colony in 1997. Last year, a national security law made Hong Kong shudder and drove the arrest of dozens of pro-democracy politicians and activists, as well as the dissolution of the city’s teachers’ union and civil rights groups.

“For my safety and that of my family, I am announcing my intention to withdraw my candidate name,” lawyer Jonathan Ross said in a statement, without specifying the risks involved in what is considered a rare step.

“It is a shameful and sad day for Hong Kong that an election for the board of our honorable institution has fallen to this level.”

Ross declined to comment further to Reuters.

A government spokesperson told Reuters in response to questions sent by email: “Anyone who has reason to believe their safety is at risk can ask the police for help.”

The Law Society did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While the Law Society is seen as more conservative than the Lawyers Bar Association, the two organizations have traditionally played a watchdog role over legal changes and are represented on a panel that recommends the appointment of judges.

Four of the five candidates in Tuesday’s election are seen as relatively candid, prompting some government officials to fear an emerging political agenda.

The Hong Kong government would consider severing ties with the Law Society if it were to be “overtaken by politics,” Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday.

Some attorneys said Ross’s decision was rare for a generally low-profile group of business lawyers, calling it a sign of tension in the city.

China’s People Daily, the official newspaper of the ruling Communist Party, declared that the Bar should not become a “politicized group”, and called the Bar Association a “running rat”.

When Beijing regained control of Hong Kong, it guaranteed that broad social and trade freedoms would remain under a “one country, two systems” model. Fears that these freedoms are threatened sparked months of sometimes violent protests in the city in 2019.

Reporting by Scott Murdoch, Greg Torode and Anne Marie Roantree; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and William Mallard

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