Hong Kong File Photo: VCG

The Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) recently held its annual general meeting to re-elect its executive committee, and Senior Counsel Victor Dawes was elected as Chairman of the association. 

People expect that the new HKBA can get out of the politicized quagmire, focus on professionalism, and serve Hong Kong's rule of law, prosperity and stability with its professional advantages. This should have been the natural duty of the HKBA, which was seriously distorted and jeopardized over the past years. 

Founded in 1949, the HKBA is the statutory professional organization of barristers (or Senior Counsel) in Hong Kong, with considerable influence in the judicial field. Its objectives include the prescription of rules of professional conduct, discipline and etiquette, and the advancement and improvement of the administration of justice and rule of law in Hong Kong. 

However, under the impact of Paul Harris, former chairman of the HKBA, the association took the lead in clashing with the administration of justice in Hong Kong, inciting "black violence" and harboring "Hong Kong secessionists," as well as going against the rule of law. 

Paul Harris is a British politician and a member of the Liberal Democrats, a party in the United Kingdom. He was not qualified to be Chairman of the HKBA but was nominated by Martin Lee Chu-ming -- one of the most notorious secessionists of Hong Kong, and he is also a traitor of the Hong Kong people. 

Harris' election indicated, on the one hand, that the HKBA was controlled by the forces obstructing social order in Hong Kong, and, on the other hand, it also proves the saying that birds of the same feather flock together. 

There have been callings for Harris' resignation in Hong Kong from the time he took office as chairman of HKBA. Close to the Hong Kong forces of "Lam Chau" (roughly meaning "self-destruct together"), Harris had been at the front line of supporting and advocating "Hong Kong secession" from China. 

After he was elected as chairman of the HKBA, Harris used his position to spread distorted remarks, to defend lawbreakers, to exculpate the violence, and to exert pressure on the judiciary. Harris repeatedly ranted to amend the National Security Law for Hong Kong, challenging the authority of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC). 

The Hong Kong Rights Monitor, founded by Harris, has reportedly received donations from the National Endowment for Democracy, an entity funded by the US government. Such a typical anti-China politician, of course, serves the interests of the British political party to which he belongs. For this reason, he does not hesitate to compromise the fundamental interests of Hong Kong and its residents. 

It's worth mentioning that Philip John Dykes, a predecessor of Harris who is also a British citizen, even publicly supported Hong Kong rioters, saying they were "mainly of good character," asking the Hong Kong Department of Justice to "let them go".

And, Hong Kong secessionist Alan Leong Kah-kit called for self-determination, promoted the legitimacy of Hong Kong secession from the motherland, and the "China colony theory" as early as when he was the chairman of the HKBA. He later openly claimed that "violence can be a solution." Obviously, Harris is not the sole problem that the HKBA had exposed.

Hong Kong needs dedicated and professional lawyers who truly safeguard the law, and it's inevitable that Harris and the like that go against the public interests and act as the source of chaos will be swept away from the historical stage of Hong Kong. However, the poisonous legacy they left won't dissipate automatically soon. The HKBA is facing the challenge of setting things right. 

Newly elected chairman Victor Dawes has briefed the media that the HKBA is a professional body and "for any political topic, that is not something the bar association should handle or discuss." Dawes said he is confident that the HKBA will have channels to "closely communicate" with the Hong Kong SAR government and the Central Government of China. People expect this to be a good start.