Meanwhile, I was alarmed to read Reuters' report that claimed Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma Tao-li had been regularly under pressure from Beijing. But the question is whether words from a few unnamed senior judges plus a supposedly close aide to Ma are sufficient ground for such allegations. The opening ceremony of the legal year is one of the few official occasions in which he shares his thoughts. Failing to provide a clarification would have caused confidence in the judiciary to be undermined if the public believed interference had taken place. The only piece of information with an identified source that we have so far is Ma's statement.

Source: The Standard April 16, 2020 19:11 UTC