The influential Hong Kong Bar Association spoke out against a government proposal that could give the immigration director “apparently unrestricted power” to prevent anyone from leaving the city.
The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) expressed alarm on Friday in a document submitted to the city’s legislative council on the proposed law, which could prevent any individual – resident or non-resident – from boarding a carrier outside the financial center.
“It is particularly worrying that the fundamentals on which such intrusive power can be exercised are not stated in the proposed legislation, and no explanation of why such power is needed, or even how it should be used, is presented,” HKBA said in the presentation .
“If new power is conferred to prevent Hong Kong residents and others from leaving the region … It should be up to the courts, not the director, to decide when it is necessary and proportionate to impose a travel ban,” he added.
Since the imposition of a new national security law in June last year, an increasing number of democracy activists and politicians have fled into exile, while China tightens its grip on the semi-autonomous city.
The political situation has also spawned a wider exodus of people from Hong Kong, many of whom are accepting immigration plans offered by countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Taiwan.
In late January, the city government proposed to amend an existing law to authorize the immigration director to prevent an individual from leaving without first going through a court.
The HKBA also pointed out that there are powers to prevent a person from leaving Hong Kong, including the recently implemented security law, which may require delivery of travel documents in certain circumstances.
The need for more legislation is “difficult to understand”, he concluded.
Since Beijing’s imposition of national security law to extinguish massive protests against democracy, nearly 100 people, including democratic media mogul Jimmy Lai and prominent activist Joshua Wong, have been arrested.
Four of them have been charged with crimes that could result in life imprisonment if convicted.