BOC action threat to rights

BOC action threat to rights

From South China Morning Post (HK)

I am not a victim of the Lehman Brothers' toxic products debacle, but I read with alarm your report ("Lehman victims oppose BOC injunction", April 9) of the Bank of China's legal action against three protesters who have been demonstrating outside the bank's headquarters in Central.

My consternation over the recent turn of events stems from two sources.

First, I am concerned about the implications of the bank's decision on the freedom of Hong Kong residents to assemble and air their grievances in public.

Bearing in mind that the exercise of such freedoms is an established way of life in the city and guaranteed under the Basic Law, any injunction sought by the Bank of China and granted by the courts could be construed as a direct assault on our fundamental rights.

Second, the judicial system in my view does not, and cannot, provide a fair and level playing field for the contending parties to settle their disputes.

The bank is clearly in a much stronger financial position to engage in a prolonged legal battle against three individuals who have already lost a significant portion of their life savings as a result of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Far from protecting the rights of citizens, therefore, the law being applied in this instance is in danger of being misused as an instrument of oppression, whereby powerful vested interests in our society are allowed to stifle the weaker voices of dissent in the community.

Liu Ting, Ho Man Tin