Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng

The Government has earlier announced that it has stopped the legislative amendment exercise regarding the Fugitive Offenders & Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 at the full Legislative Council and has stressed that there is no timetable for restarting the process. Although my DoJ (Department of Justice) colleagues and I joined hands with the other government officials in meeting various sectors in the community to explain our proposals, there were still deficiencies in the Government's work.

Regarding the controversies and disputes in society arising from the strife in the past few months, being a team member of the Government, I offer my sincere apology to all people of Hong Kong. We promise to adopt a most sincere and humble attitude to accept criticisms and make improvements in serving the public.

The Department of Justice will continue to maintain close contacts with the legal sector to exchange views on matters of mutual concern. Since I took office as the Secretary for Justice, I have put in arrangements of regular meetings with the Law Society of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Bar Association to enhance our communications with the legal sector. I also frequently meet with legal practitioners as well as professionals from the arbitration and mediation sectors to explore ways to uphold our rule of law and consolidate Hong Kong as a leading centre for international legal and dispute resolution services.

Last but not the least, the Government has learned a hard lesson, but we remain hopeful that the experience gained will help us work better to meet the public’s expectations in future. 

Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng wrote this article and posted it on her blog on June 21.