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South China Morning Post
29 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong 47: court begins hearing appeals against activists' convictions
Legislators are entitled to prevent the passage of government budgets and bills to achieve political aims, lawyers representing 11 Hong Kong opposition figures have said, as they seek to overturn convictions for conspiracy to subvert state power following the city's largest national security trial Legal counsel on Monday urged an appellate court to refrain from adjudicating on 'political matters', saying that any 'peaceful' attempt to force the government to accede to a political agenda should be allowed in a democratic society. They also challenged the trial court's interpretation of the national security law in the high-profile case involving 47 activists and contended that the exercise of lawmakers' veto powers could not amount to 'unlawful means' that enabled a subversive act. More than 100 police officers were stationed at West Kowloon Court for the first oral hearing in the case's appeal proceedings. Three Court of First Instance judges last year convicted 14 of 16 defendants who denied plotting to paralyse the government through their involvement in an unofficial legislative 'primary' election in July 2020. The trial ran for 118 days from February to December 2023. The judges had earlier found the primary to be part of a wider plot to 'undermine, destroy or overthrow' the city government.
South China Morning Post
43 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Malaysia's ruling PKR in bind over judicial crisis, after Anwar's daughter joins protest
A fresh quandary may be brewing in Malaysia 's ruling People's Justice Party (PKR), after Deputy President Nurul Izzah Anwar joined a march calling for judicial independence while her party weighs disciplinary action on her peers for demanding an investigation into alleged meddling in the country's judiciary. Nurul Izzah, the daughter of Prime Minister and PKR President Anwar Ibrahim , joined nearly 1,000 lawyers in a march on the prime minister's office on Monday afternoon to protest against alleged executive interference in the appointment of the chief justice. Public attention on the issue intensified over the weekend when purported minutes of a Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) meeting in May were publicly leaked, exposing alleged attempts to fix judicial appointments. PKR Deputy President Nurul Izzah Anwar with members of the Malaysian Bar during a march for judicial independence on Monday. Photo: Handout Nurul Izzah's presence at the march, however, sent the party into a tailspin after it launched an internal probe into calls by more than a dozen divisions to suspend her predecessor, Rafizi Ramli, and eight other party leaders, for questioning the government's handling of the judicial crisis. 'Izzah's attendance puts the party in an awkward position, given the official party line so far is to deny that there is a crisis in the judiciary,' Rafizi told This Week in Asia. 'Her attendance means she endorsed the [Malaysian Bar's] demands, including the setting up of the [Royal Commission of Inquiry] which I advocated; and Anwar is known to oppose it.' In a statement on Monday, Nurul Izzah called for an independent tribunal made up of senior judges to investigate alleged attempts to fix judicial appointments, stressing that it would 'go a long way to preserve the faith in our systems'. Her position, however, appeared to contradict her party's view on her fellow leaders, who had asked for something similar just a week earlier.
South China Morning Post
an hour ago
- South China Morning Post
Could Elon Musk really move his tech empire to China?
Donald Trump's recent spats with Elon Musk – which included threats to deport the South African-born billionaire – have prompted speculation that he might move his business empire to China. That prompted Trump to write on social media earlier this month: 'Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. No more Rocket launches, satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE.' Musk's business empire has collected US$38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies and tax credits, according to The Washington Post. 'If tensions escalate between Musk and Trump – especially over issues such as regulation, subsidies, censorship or taxation – there is a possibility that Musk might move more R&D or manufacturing capabilities abroad,' said Denis Simon, a non-resident fellow at the US think tank the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. 'China, with its advanced supply chains and infrastructure, could become a favoured destination.
