Middle Templar 2020

Page 63

provisions, which stipulates that: ‘No department of the Central People’s Government … may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law’. Mr Kowk shed light on the underwhelming police reaction following the attack which took place in July 2019 at Yuen Long MTR station, in which a large group of men dressed in white began indiscriminately beating passengers, and the inaction on the part of the state following the gratuitous displays of police brutality during last year’s protests for which not even one policeman has been held accountable. He contrasted this with the excessive state response towards democrats: using the guise of Covid-19 and social distancing to selectively prosecute gatherings of those who share pro-democratic values. In his closing remarks, Mr Kwok candidly informed the captive audience that he was not calling for the independence of Hong Kong or for self-determination. He simply wanted China to honour the principle of ’one country, two systems’. The final talk was by Mr Lee himself, who offered greater insight into what had been touched on by the previous

speakers. Mr Lee confirmed that China only regained Hong Kong in 1984 on the undertaking that it would not rule Hong Kong from Beijing for at least 50 years, and upon promising that the lifestyle and legal system of those living in Hong Kong would remain unchanged. He expressed the view that although difficult, the principle of ‘one country, two systems‘ could work in theory, provided two essential conditions were met: 1) all members of the legislature must be elected; and 2) there should be no external interference by Beijing. The reality on the ground is that universal suffrage is still nowhere in sight, and that inference continues to increase at an alarming rate. By way of example, strongly worded statements have been issued by Beijing attacking Mr Kwok, criticising the High Court bench which presided over the facemask case, and applauding the Court of Appeal which overturned the decision. It is thought that the aim of such announcements is to influence the judges of the Court of Final Appeal who are due to hear the case shortly. Mr Lee doubted whether he would have a fair trial if Beijing was allowed to play a supervisory role in the legal system and called on the British

2020 Middle Templar

government to stand up for the rights of those in Hong Kong. After all, how can other countries be expected to express concern when Britain, a party to the Joint Declaration, was not itself willing to forcefully speak out. Middle Temple has always had strong links with Hong Kong, and the Middle Temple Society in Hong Kong is the oldest of the Inn’s Overseas Societies, with the official constitution being signed in 1998. Each year the Society sends six barristers to London to receive advocacy training by the Inn, and in turn the Inn awards an annual overseas scholarship to Hong Kong to one of its members. In hosting this event, which amassed over 100 virtual participants, MTYBA reinforced the relationship between the Inn and Hong Kong, and showed solidarity with those being persecuted for defending the rights of others. None of the speakers called for more or greater rights. They were simply fighting to keep the rights they already have. In 1996, Master John Major promised that ‘Hong Kong will never have to walk alone‘. It is now, perhaps more than at any other time in its past, that Britain needs to remember this promise, and its responsibilities to Hong Kong.

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Temple Church Weddings

0
page 145

New Masters of the Bench 2019-20

9min
pages 127-129

Middle Temple Students' Association

4min
page 126

Middle Temple Young Barristers' Association

7min
pages 124-125

Hall Committee

4min
page 123

The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme

3min
page 122

What Have the Bar Council and the Inn Ever Done for Me?

2min
page 119

Behind the Lens

8min
pages 116-118

Temple Residents' Association

4min
page 121

Valedictory: The Rt Hon. Lord Carnwath

7min
pages 114-115

Temple Church During Lockdown

7min
pages 112-113

Lent Reader’s Feast: The Highways, Byways and Blind Alleys of International Law

11min
pages 108-110

Temple Church Choir Summer Review

2min
page 111

Becoming a Barrister

15min
pages 103-105

Autumn Reader's Feast: Current Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

8min
pages 106-107

Talk to Spot

3min
page 102

The Divorce Blame Game is Nearly Over

6min
pages 100-101

You have the Right to Remain Unidentified

7min
pages 98-99

Levelling the Playing Field

8min
pages 96-97

A Day in the Country in Lockdown

9min
pages 92-93

Confronting the Challenges Presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic

8min
pages 90-91

Impeachment of a U.S. President

8min
pages 94-95

How Middle Temple Helped Me

3min
page 88

Don’t Let Commercial Awareness be a Bar to Success

4min
page 87

Student Life at the Inn

3min
page 86

In the Shoes of an Out of London Student

4min
page 85

The Inns of Court

3min
page 84

The ICCA Bar Course

3min
page 83

Troubled Journeys on the Path to Justice

3min
page 82

Turning the Tide against Corruption in the Congo

4min
page 81

My Journey to the Bar and Becoming the First Kurdish Iraqi Barrister

3min
page 80

Qualifying Sessions

4min
page 79

The Role of an Inn of Court

3min
page 78

Five Perspectives on Sponsorship

8min
pages 76-77

Advocacy at the Inn

7min
pages 74-75

Outreach

3min
page 72

Sherrard Conversations

3min
page 73

Mock Pupillage Interviews

7min
pages 68-69

Volunteering at Call Day

2min
pages 70-71

Mooting Trip to Cherokee

9min
pages 65-67

Education Update

4min
page 64

100 Years Since Helena Normanton's First Qualifying Session

2min
page 58

MTYBA & MTSA International Women's Day

2min
page 59

Créme de la Créme Climbing Rose

2min
page 62

Celebrating a Century of Women in Law

5min
pages 56-57

Circuit Societies

15min
pages 53-55

MTYBA Dark Waters Event

3min
page 63

The Rule of Law Under Attack

7min
pages 60-61

Working in the Seychelles

4min
page 52

An Increased Use of Technology in Gibraltar's Legal System

2min
page 51

Access to Justice during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience

8min
pages 48-49

Cross Border Practice in Europe and Brexit

4min
page 46

Business as Usual at the European Court of Justice Pending Brexit

7min
pages 44-45

Reflections on a Declaration of Friendship

7min
pages 42-43

Mind the Gap: The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong

4min
page 47

Amity Visit to Canada

6min
pages 40-41

Book Review: Equal Justice by Frederick Wilmot-Smith

3min
page 39

Book Review: Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant

4min
page 38

Book Review: Simon Brown's Memoirs by the The Rt Hon The Lord Brown

4min
page 35

The Ceremonial Plate of the Middle Temple

4min
page 32

Lord Carson of Duncairn: Barrister, Statesman and Judge

11min
pages 27-29

Unshaken & Unshakeable

7min
pages 30-31

A Personal Collection of 15th Century Documents

17min
pages 23-26

Justiciability – A Forgotten Saga

9min
pages 33-34

Readers of the Temple: From the 16th to the 19th Century

9min
pages 20-22

A Potted History of the Office of the Under Treasurer

5min
pages 18-19

Equality and Diversity at the Bar Council

4min
page 13

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
page 17

Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
page 12

Black Lives Matter

4min
page 11

BAME and the Bar

4min
page 10

From the Treasurer

6min
pages 8-9

Speech at the Inauguration of the Middle Temple LGBTQ+ Forum

11min
pages 14-16

Under Treasurers’ Forewords

8min
pages 6-7
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