By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-12-17 09:24:54 | Updated at 2024-12-17 11:33:13
2 hours ago
The Hong Kong Bar Association has held a “frank” discussion with mainland Chinese officials overseeing the city’s affairs about the local situation following the enactment of domestic national security legislation, the organisation’s chairman has said.
Victor Dawes, who is visiting Beijing at the head of a 14-member delegation, met officials from the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO) on Tuesday morning, the second day of the association’s three-day trip to the capital.
In April of last year, the organisation visited Beijing for an ice-breaking trip after the annual exchanges of views were paused for five years.
Tuesday’s meeting was also attended by Shen Chunyao, chairman of the Legislative Affairs Committee and Basic Law Committee, which falls under the National People’s Congress Standing Committee – the country’s top legislative body.
Xiang Bin, a party group member at the HKMAO also attended the annual exchange session for the first time.
Speaking to reporters in Beijing, Dawes said: “We have endeavoured to accurately reflect the situation in Hong Kong, matters that the general public is concerned with and matters that the legal profession is concerned with.
“Those dialogues were frank … We have definitely not reported only the good things but have also mentioned worthy concerns.”
