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Carrie Lam ‘issued eviction notice to foreign firms’ by rejecting separation of powers

蘋果日報 2020/09/03 12:15


Hong Kong risks losing its status as an international financial centre after Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s rejection of separation of powers for the city, a veteran commentator has said.
The chief executive’s remarks “rubbed salt in the wound” as Hong Kong was already reeling from a poor economy, the coronavirus pandemic and hostility from foreign nations, Lam Hang-chi, founder of the Hong Kong Economic Journal, wrote in his column on Wednesday.
“We cannot rule out the possibility of the weak market taking a drastic turn for the worse,” he wrote, calling the remarks “very unwise.”
Carrie Lam earlier made the remarks in response to a controversy about textbook publishers removing content on the separation of powers. She said there was “cooperation” and “division of labor” among the three branches of government, but that Hong Kong’s administration was “executive-led” and derived its authority from the central government.
Lam Hang-chi predicted that Hong Kong would lose its role as the foreign exchange hub of China, since the chief executive’s remarks were akin to an “eviction notice” served to investors.
“Hong Kong is no longer the ideal place for profit-making or a safe haven for businesses, unless you have connections in business, politics and law in mainland China,” he wrote.
“For people who believe in China’s prospects and its business culture based on personal connections, then this will be a great opportunity. But for those who are used to living and working in a society with separation of powers, they should look elsewhere.”
Shanghai and Shenzhen failed to become international financial centres because their governments had no separation of powers, he said.
A columnist who had written for the HKEJ for nearly 50 years, he added: “A well-established, universally praised system of governance has vanished as if by magic. Is there anything left in Hong Kong that can remain the same?”
Separately on Wednesday, the Hong Kong Bar Association said that Lam’s stance was “unfounded and inconsistent with the unambiguous provisions in the Basic Law” concerning the functions of the three branches of government.
Her comments also “depart from the authoritative judicial decisions” on the structure of Hong Kong’s government, and contradicted public statements made by two chief justices, the barristers’ group said.
“The Basic Law provides for a constitutional order in the HKSAR where there are effective checks and balances on the exercise of executive power,” it said in a statement.
“The HKBA has over the years issued a number of statements… to dispel any suggestion that the judiciary should be seen to be part of a governance ‘team’.”
The separation of powers served to avoid excessive concentration of power, guarded against abuse and strengthened the rule of law, the association said, adding that Lam’s rejection of the doctrine would “give rise to speculation” about how the government operated under Hong Kong’s constitutional and legal framework.
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