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Letters to Young Lawyers (I)
2008-08-04 Dear Young Colleague, When I was young I was a rebel and caused my parents a lot of headaches. I spent 10 years in the university reading just what I liked. But at the age of 36 I decided to go to Cambridge to study law. Why? Because I reckoned I needed to settle down, and arguing cases in court was not a bad way to make a living. Little did I know that I was to enter politics. It came about a most unexpected manner. In 1995, a group of friends in the profession persuaded me to stand for election. They wanted to make sure that the rule of law and individual rights and freedoms would have a smooth transition. They told me that if these basic values were undermined, the legal profession could not remain the strong independent profession that it was, and Hong Kong’s way of life would change. I did not welcome the job, but I agreed it had to be done and I was ready to do it. Hong Kong enjoyed a large degree of freedom, but history tells us how easy it is for freedom to be lost. I was deeply moved by the heroic acts of our forefathers who risked their lives to win freedom for China – a freedom guaranteed by democracy. One should not hesitate when called upon to do one’s best. Many legislative amendments of great importance took place in those two years. One of them involved the preservation of the right to obtain a writ of habeas corpus under the common law, by amending the Supreme Court Ordinance (now the High Court Ordinance). However, the Government’s amendment allowed for exceptions which weakened the right. I opposed. I had to go to quite a lot of trouble but in the end I succeeded. The Government dropped the exceptions and also gave an undertaking not to remove anyone who has applied for a writ of habeas corpus. The writ of habeas corpus under the common law pre-dated even the Magna Carta and is the most powerful instrument at the court’s command to protect the liberty of the subject. I was very proud to have played a part in its preservation. And so the years flew by. Looking back, I have no regrets. Maybe I could have used the time to develop a lucrative practice instead, but there are things in life one cannot buy with money. Yours sincerely, Margaret Ng |
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