Hong Kong Bar Association Chairman Xia Boyi rebutted the Liaison Office, saying he is not a politician and not “anti-China”

In an interview with Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily, Xia Boyi refuted the allegations one by one.

The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong (LOCPG) has issued a press release, blasting Hong Kong Bar Association Chairman Ronald Arculli as an “anti-China politician” and denouncing him for “repeatedly ranting about amending Hong Kong’s national security law, challenging the authority of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and confronting the rule of law and constitutional order in Hong Kong.” In his latest interview with Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily, Xia Boyi refuted each of the allegations. (Reported by Lu Xi)

Xia Boyi said he has quit the British Liberal Democratic Party, emphasizing that he is not a politician, nor is he “anti-China”. He said that he was not a politician and he was not “anti-China”. He said that he had problems with some of the provisions of the National Security Law of Hong Kong, such as the possibility of legal challenges against officials of the National Security Bureau for their actions. He said the Bar Association has the responsibility to study the provisions and suggest amendments, and believes that it will submit proposals to the government in the future.

In an interview with “Standpoint News” last week, Xia Boyi mentioned that pro-democracy leaders were sentenced to prison terms for the 8.18 and 8.31 peaceful demonstrations, saying that if people are deprived of their right to peaceful expression, they may eventually turn to destructive means of expression, including violence. The statement was criticized by the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Hong Kong for “excusing the violent, discrediting the law enforcers and pressuring the judiciary”. In his latest interview, Xia Boyi emphasized that the Basic Law provides for the freedom of assembly, procession and demonstration for Hong Kong people. He sees himself as a voice for the right of citizens to demonstrate peacefully, as previous Bar Association chairmen have done, and he has always opposed all kinds of violence, including violent demonstrators or the use of excessive force by the police.

He also wrote to the British Bar Association last week, criticizing the UK for its unreasonable and unjustified demand for the resignation of British judges.

He also reiterated in the interview that the Hong Kong Bar Association is not a “political organization”, but only a group of barristers defending the rule of law, that the outside world and even the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government misunderstood the Association.