The independence of Hong Kong's judicial system is under assault from the Communist Party leadership in Beijing, senior judges in the city have said, posing the gravest threat to the rule of law since Britain handed its former colony back to Chinese sovereignty in 1997.
Even as the novel coronavirus has brought the protests in Hong Kong to a near standstill, the struggle rages on over the future of China's freest city. Three of Hong Kong's most senior judges said that the independent judiciary, the cornerstone of the city's broad freedoms, is in a fight for its survival.
Beijing's effort to hobble the judiciary is multi-pronged, according to more than two dozen interviews with judges, leading lawyers and diplomats in Hong Kong. The state-controlled press on the mainland has warned Hong Kong judges not to "absolve" protesters arrested during last year's demonstrations. Judges and lawyers say there are signs Beijing is trying to limit the authority of Hong Kong courts to rule on core constitutional matters. And people close to the city's top judge, Geoffrey Ma, say he has to contend with Communist Party officials pushing Beijing's view that the rule of law ultimately must be a tool to preserve one-party rule.