- Date
- Tuesday 16 Jul 2019, 11:00 - 13:00
- Type
- Lecture
- Room
- Theil Building (C), CT-6
- Location
Erasmus University Rotterdam Campus Woudestein, Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, 3062 PA, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
It is with great pleasure that we invite you to the guest lecture given by Prof. Lin Feng from City University of Hong Kong. This lecture is a part of the guest lecture series organized under the research project EUPLANT: EU-China Legal and Judicial Cooperation, funded by the Erasmus+ Jean Monnet Network.
The constitutionality issue of demanding Hong Kong (HK) independence/self-determination has perplexed HK and China since the Hong Kong National Party was established in March 2016 advocating for HK independence and pledging to use whatever means available to break HK away from China. Despite strong criticism from various governmental organs in China, pro-establishment political parties and individuals in HK, such a demand for independence has gained more support as revealed through the results of 2016 Legislative Council election. This lecture examines the issue of the constitutionality of demanding HK independence through comparative study. Since neither the Chinese Constitution nor HK’s Basic Law contains a right to secede, the experiences of those jurisdictions whose constitutions are silent on the right of secession are of most referential value. This lecture will discuss their experiences and argue that HK judiciary can learn from their experiences in dealing with secession request. Since HK’s constitutional status in China under the principle of ‘one country, two systems’ is different from the units within the sovereign countries discussed here, this lecture will further analyse how the China context might affect HK judiciary’s approach towards secession request.
Lin Feng is Professor of Law and Associate Dean at the School of Law of City University of Hong Kong. He is also Director of the Centre for Judicial Education and Research at City University of Hong Kong. He is a member of the Hong Kong Law Reform Commission. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales by the Honourable Society of Middle Temple in 1998 and was admitted to practice at the Bar of the High Court of Hong Kong in February 2000. His research areas include Hong Kong Basic Law, comparative constitutional law, administrative law, and judicial system. He has published more than 100 academic papers.
Participation in the conference is free of charge, however registration is required by sending an email to eclc@law.eur.nl.
