HK chief slams resignation of UK court judges as ‘political’

By HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Hong Kong’s leader has rejected claims that the city’s judiciary was losing its independence after two British judges resigned from the courts in the semi-autonomous territory, citing increasingly oppressive laws enacted by mainland China. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said she accepted the resignations but insisted that “the rule of law has remained as robust as ever.” Lam accused the U.K. government of damaging Hong Kong’s independent judicial system. British judges have sat on the Court of Final Appeal since Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. But Britain and other nations say China has reneged on its promise to retain Hong Kong’s own social, legal and political systems for 50 years amid an intense crackdown and arrests following mass anti-government protests in 2019.