The Hong Kong government's motion to appoint the city's chief justice failed to get unanimous approval in the Legislative Council yesterday, marking the first time since the 1997 handover that the appointment of Hong Kong's top judge has faced objections.

The motion to appoint Andrew Cheung as the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal was passed after 39 legislators, mostly from the pro-Beijing camp, voted for the motion while 11 pro-democracy legislators voted against it and five abstained.

This was the first time since 1997 that Hong Kong legislators have voted against or abstained from the appointment of the city's chief judge.

Before voting, the Democratic Party had vowed to abstain, saying that it hoped such a decision would sound the alarm over the city's rule of law being in jeopardy. All the legislators from the Civic Party, except Dennis Kwok who represents the legal sector, also abstained from voting.

Kwok, who supported the motion based on the legal sector's opinion, said Hong Kong judges should be fearless in the face of pressure and interference from mainland China. He said such interference was both unconstitutional and inappropriate, and Hong Kong judges should stick to their principles and procedural justice and act in accordance with the Basic Law and international human rights.

Kwok praised outgoing chief justice Geoffrey Ma as having "principles, credibility and moral courage." He said the sound foundation laid by Ma and former chief justice Andrew Li should be kept.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ted Hui said Hong Kong people used to have high confidence in the city's judicial independence but now thought differently. "Hong Kong's rule of law is in serious danger. Many people even feel that it is dead already," he said at the meeting.

Hui also criticized Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng for playing a part in eroding Hong Kong's judiciary system.

"Cheng targets only dissidents for political persecution while protecting people in support of officials and the government and allowing police brutality," he said. "She has become the first person to undermine the rule of law."

Alvin Yeung, a legislator and barrister from the Civic Party, said some judges had used their personal opinions to inform their verdicts, causing worries and anxiety among Hong Kong people. He said he hoped Cheung could maintain impartiality in the courts.

Hong Kong Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, who moved the motion, rebuked the criticisms and also defended Teresa Cheng, saying that Hui's attack had been "irresponsible, groundless and malicious." Cheung also said that concerns about Beijing's proposed national security law for Hong Kong undermining the city's judicial independence were unfounded.

Holden Chow from the pro-Beijing camp, which unanimously supported the motion, suggested Cheung follow up on judges who "smear" the Chinese government in foreign media. Another Beijing loyalist, Regina Ip, urged Cheung to act to stop judicial reviews from being abused.

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