Hong Kong must build ‘reassuring’ environment amid political criticism: Paul Lam

Hong Kong’s justice minister is responding to criticism from 10 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and Japan. They said Joshua Wong’s sentence, alongside many other imprisonments, showed that the national security law was being used for political repression. The criticism comes amid wider geopolitical tensions involving China.

Lam says the government should not let political criticism distract it from practical work. It should build a safe and convenient environment, repeat its position, and produce concrete results. He points to business activity and international engagement as evidence that Hong Kong remains trusted.

Lam accepts that criticism will continue because Hong Kong is an international city. He believes confidence will grow if people see a secure place to do business. The government also highlights Unidroit’s new regional office as evidence of international engagement. Its approach is to answer criticism through resilience, action and reassurance rather than argument alone.

The joint statement was signed by 10 countries. They included the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France and Japan. The countries said Wong’s imprisonment, together with the detention of many others, showed that Hong Kong’s national security law was being used as a tool of political repression.

Wong received a new 10-year prison sentence last Thursday. It concerned his role in a global campaign calling for sanctions against mainland China and Hong Kong after the 2019 anti-government protests. He was already serving four years and eight months for conspiracy to commit subversion.

That earlier case involved his participation in an unofficial 2020 primary election. Wong had been due for release on January 7 next year. The additional sentence has now pushed his release date back to 2036. The figures show how the new case substantially extends his imprisonment and fuels international criticism.

Hong Kong’s national security law is a legal framework intended to address conduct considered threatening to national security. The source does not explain its full provisions. In this dispute, it matters because authorities used national-security offences in cases involving opposition activists, including Joshua Wong’s conviction for conspiracy to commit subversion.

Wong was first sentenced to four years and eight months over an unofficial 2020 primary election. He later received 10 years for a global campaign calling for sanctions against mainland China and Hong Kong after the 2019 protests. Ten countries said these imprisonments showed the law was being used as a tool of political repression.

Hong Kong’s government strongly rejects that interpretation. A spokesman said the countries disregarded the facts, interfered with judicial power and maliciously slandered the law. Lam says the government should focus on practical work and let results, including international legal cooperation, demonstrate confidence in Hong Kong.

The 2019 anti-government protests form the background to the cases described in the article. After those protests, Joshua Wong took part in an unofficial primary election in 2020. Authorities later prosecuted him for conspiracy to commit subversion, and he received a sentence of four years and eight months.

A separate case involved Wong’s role in a global campaign calling for sanctions against mainland China and Hong Kong. That campaign also followed the 2019 protests. For this role, he received a new 10-year prison sentence. The two cases therefore concern different activities, but both are connected in the article to the political conflict that followed the protests.

The combined effect is a much longer imprisonment. Wong’s earlier release date was January 7 next year, but it has now been pushed back to 2036. The cases have also triggered international criticism, with 10 countries challenging how Hong Kong’s national security law is being applied.

Continued international criticism could damage Hong Kong’s reputation as a safe and reliable place to do business. The 10-country statement directly challenged the city’s legal system and national security law. Lam recognizes that such criticism will continue as China faces stronger geopolitical tensions and rivalries, with Hong Kong bearing part of that pressure as an international city.

His response is to focus on practical work. The government wants to build a safe and convenient environment, restate its position, and show concrete results. Lam says business activity is a test of confidence: people’s willingness to come to Hong Kong will demonstrate whether reassurance is working.

The forward implication is a contest between criticism and visible international engagement. Lam points to Unidroit’s regional office as a positive signal. He believes confidence will attract more people and investment, while the government tries to show that Hong Kong remains convenient and reassuring despite political disputes.

Unidroit works to modernize, harmonize and coordinate private and commercial law across states and groups of states. Founded in 1926, it has 65 member states. It is one of the “three sisters” of international private law, alongside two organizations named in the article: the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and The Hague Conference on Private International Law.

Unidroit opened its first office outside its Rome headquarters in Hong Kong. The new Asia-Pacific liaison office was launched during the Department of Justice’s annual Legal Week event. Lam calls the decision symbolically significant because it recognizes Hong Kong’s role in building a fairer, rules-based economic order for the region.

Hong Kong also sees practical benefits. Lam says the government will support the office and help expand its regional membership. He believes Hong Kong can use its relationships to act as a go-between, connect members and help the office deliver results. That engagement is presented as evidence of international confidence in the city’s legal system.

International organizations that harmonize private and commercial law help countries work with more compatible rules. Unidroit’s stated role is to modernize, harmonize and coordinate those laws across states and groups of states. The article presents this work as part of a fairer, rules-based economic order for the Asia-Pacific.

The key mechanism is alignment. When countries use more consistent legal principles, businesses can better understand contracts, transactions and related rights across borders. That can reduce uncertainty when companies trade, invest or cooperate internationally. The source does not list particular rules or procedures, but its focus on coordination supports this general explanation.

Unidroit’s new Hong Kong office could help expand membership and build regional connections. Lam says Hong Kong can act as a go-between because it has many international relationships. As cooperation grows, more compatible private-law systems could make cross-border commercial activity more predictable and convenient.