THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2009 A13

Christine Loh Mainland rights lawyers are risking careers, liberty and even [email protected] their lives by taking ‘sensitive’ cases, writes Jerome A. Cohen Lean and green

hina can only be a major economic power if it cracks the energy nut. This means it must secure stable energy supplies and generate clean power. What role can Hong Kong play? The country has large coal deposits, but coal Rough justice burning emits large amounts of carbon dioxide, which Ccreates global warming. As the world’s largest carbon emitter, China knows it must burn coal more cleanly and, at the same time, invest heavily in renewable power, which is why giant wind farms are being developed in northern China. Indeed, China is a leading developer of hydro and solar power, and could become the global leader in clean-energy production in the next decade. n 1977, Victor H. Li published a Justice, and the local lawyers associations Meanwhile, there is a need to clean up coal-based power stimulating book titled Law Without they control, quietly press activist lawyers generation. With the current economic downturn, China can close Lawyers. China’s communists, he not to participate in a broad range of down old, highly polluting coal power plants because energy suggested, because of their “sensitive” matters or at least to follow consumption is down. It was difficult to close these plants when country’s distinctive tradition and their “guidance”. demand was high. Nevertheless, 34 gigawatts’ worth of power was culture, might blaze a new trail Such cases include not only criminal eliminated through closures of such plants between 2006 and towards modernisation, one that, prosecutions of alleged Tibetan or Uygur 2008, and the same amount of power can be expected to be cut unlike their former Soviet model, “separatists”, democracy organisers and over the next couple of years through the same measures. had little need for lawyers. Yet Deng Falun Gong or “house church” Moreover, China has invested in new, highly efficient Xiaoping and his colleagues worshippers, but also claims against the “supercritical” coal plants, which emit less pollution including soon demonstrated that they thought government for many kinds of misconduct carbon, as well as in coal-to-gas plants, which are also much Iotherwise. and corruption, birth control abuses and cleaner. These efforts are coupled with a drive to improve energy After Mao’s Zedong’s death forced eviction and relocation. efficiency in all industrial sectors. ended the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, Even civil cases involving land What can Hong Kong do? Our electricity comes from coal and China’s new leaders altered the Soviet transactions, environmental controversies, natural-gas-fired plants, and one of our utilities also buys nuclear model for economic development, but labour disputes, compensation for tainted power from the mainland. The general direction of our energy and resurrected its political-legal system, milk and earthquake victims are off limits environmental policies is to reduce coal usage by using more gas, including its reliance on “socialist lawyers”. or controlled. although there are few details. Hong Kong will need to secure a lot Indeed, during the past three decades, The refusal to allow famous lawyer Mo more gas if it is to wean itself off coal altogether and the authorities the post-Mao leadership has increasingly Shaoping to defend intellectual Liu have said very little about whether this is the ultimate goal. No expanded the roles of lawyers to help settle Xiaobo against criminal charges matter how this issue is resolved, the disputes, promote the evolving “socialist arising from Charter 08’s call for political power generation and distribution market economy”, foster international reform is only the best-known recent China could process should be as energy efficient business co-operation and legitimate the example of this interference. as possible. This means that the punishment of serious offenders. Lawyers who fail to heed such “advice” become the utilities can lower their operating In principle, contemporary Chinese suffer many sanctions. Their licence to global leader in costs, and emissions can be reduced. lawyers are no longer Soviet-style “state practise law is frequently suspended or, as The utilities may also invest in legal workers” but independent in many current instances, their local clean-energy renewable power, and they are looking professionals tasked with protecting lawyers’ association simply fails to give the at offshore wind farms. Research endorsement required for annual licence production shows that Hong Kong has only renewal. Their law firms are coerced to modest wind potential, which makes Many lawyers, while dismiss them or risk being closed, as some within the investment just about possible. If the seeking to meet have been, and party organisations within next decade costs involved are not considered law firms have been reinforced...... worthwhile, it does not mean there is their clients, have Often, ex-lawyers who remain nothing else Hong Kong can do. Our undeterred from assisting controversial utilities and other companies have already invested elsewhere, been beaten by police clients are prosecuted and sent to prison including in renewable power, solar panels, batteries and energy- by authorities who stretch the vague efficient products. and their thugs language of criminal law to cover their End-users must also be encouraged to be energy efficient...... actions. Unfrocked Beijing lawyer Gao While Hong Kong has a range of policies pointing in the right Zhisheng was finally convicted of “inciting direction, such as energy labelling, promoting carbon audits and citizens, including those at odds with the subversion” after beng detained tightening building codes, we can do more. state. But, while their numbers, education incommunicado for months. Former There is no doubt that our buildings need to be much more and responsibilities have burgeoned, lawyer Zheng Enchong served energy efficient in terms of both how they are designed and how Chinese lawyers, like their Soviet three years for “sending abroad state they operate after they are built. There is no excuse for new predecessors, suffer many restraints. secrets”. Shenzhen lawyer Liu Yao’s four- buildings not to be designed to be as energy efficient as today’s The Law on Lawyers amended in 2007 year sentence for “destroying property” technology allows. Hysan Development’s Hennessy Centre in seemed to promise greater autonomy to was only reduced after an extraordinary Causeway Bay is a case in point. While it has yet to be built, it has human rights lawyers. Yet their plight has petition from more than 500 lawyers received the highest pre-certification, under the US Leadership in actually worsened in the 20 months since persuaded the authorities to end his 16- Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system. the 17th Communist Party Congress. The month detention. Indeed, this shows the government should now tighten Hong reconfirmed leadership of Hu Jintao In each case, conviction means Kong’s own building and energy codes to give us a new generation and Wen Jiabao placed permanent disbarment and loss of ridiculously claims he is free on probation. arrest and casual police beatings, in of energy-efficient buildings. veteran party officials, without legal livelihood. Even self-taught “barefoot Many lawyers, while seeking to meet their addition to harassment of his wife and Post-construction performance, meanwhile, depends on how education or experience but with a strong lawyers”, who are not licensed but play an clients, have been beaten by police and daughter. When six policemen barred me the building is managed and on occupants’ environmental police background, in charge of the important role in the countryside, have their thugs. The well-known professor/ from visiting him and I asked for their legal behaviour. It will be no bad thing to have a labelling system that Ministry of Justice and the courts, as well as been given long prison terms on trumped- activist not only lost his licence authority, they merely kept repeating “We rates buildings’ ongoing performance on an annual basis similar the Central Party Political-Legal up charges, as in the case of the courageous to practise law but was also kidnapped and are police”. A sequel to Victor Li’s book to, say, the National Australian Built Environmental Rating Committee that instructs all legal blind activist, . threatened by police. I can testify from might appropriately be titled Lawlessness System. Retrofitting buildings is also very important. institutions. These new appointees seem Perhaps most troubling is the frequent, various personal experiences that many Without Lawyers. Measuring all aspects of a city’s environmental and carbon determined to eviscerate the country’s physical intimidation of “rights lawyers”. rights lawyers are closely monitored and ...... functions will be a major enterprise within a decade. Will Hong “rights lawyers”, who constitute a tiny Today is the 155th day since Mr Gao’s restricted in their movements. Jerome A. Cohen is co-director of Kong lag behind or lead? The answer should be obvious. fraction – perhaps 1 per cent – of mainland “disappearance”. His torture while Since release from prison, Mr Zheng’s NYU’s US-Asia Law Institute and ...... China’s almost 150,000 licensed lawyers. previously detained makes many fear that life has been a nightmare of incessant adjunct senior fellow at the Council Christine Loh Kung-wai is chief executive Local officials under the Ministry of he is now dead, although the government summoning for questioning, illegal house on Foreign Relations in New York of the think-tank Civic Exchange Other Voices Two reasons to give Beware debt elephant that Tiny step on long road G8 a stay of execution may trample Hong Kong to nuclear-free world ...... serves any real purpose. The carry out a joint threat assessment Larry Elliott David Krieger growing importance of China, India ...... and make recommendations. Let’s hear it for Silvio Berlusconi. and Brazil means that the centre of blithe confidence that all we need is ings. Dr Chan’s bond market may US President Barack Obama raised It is expected that the new arms Jake van der Kamp The Italian prime minister, more gravity for economic decision- government help to bring this sec- suit traditional US thinking, but does expectations for achieving a world agreement will be finalised before fond of cavorting with young making is already shifting to the It’s a strange world. In Europe and ondary market into existence. He is it suit Hong Kong’s? without nuclear weapons when he the end of the year. This means the women than keeping promises to Group of 20, a body on which the America, governments are struggling careful not to say how much help is The latent pension and insurance said in Prague on April 5: “I state new numbers will not need to be the world’s poorest countries, has bigger developing countries are with suddenly increased loads of needed, he doesn’t know, but it may appetite in Hong Kong for high-grade clearly and with conviction achieved before 2016, which would helped expose what a cynical represented. debt incurred to stave off a financial be more than is good for Hong Kong’s Hong Kong-dollar debt can only be America’s commitment to seek the coincide with the end of a potential shambles the Group of Eight If the G8 is to survive, it will have crisis, their central banks now issuing financial health. guessed at and may indeed be great. peace and security of a world second Obama administration. summit has become. to find a niche and lead by example. dire warnings that fiscal deficits must First, this bond market would Dr Chan’s problem is that he cannot without nuclear weapons.” In addition to the slow progress, Officials say this year’s shindig in Too many countries are still be trimmed and debt reduced. compete closely with a US dollar get corporate debt issuance until he But he only succeeded in moving the Joint Understanding also fails to L’Aquila will be the most pointless burdened with unpayable debts, But, in Hong Kong, where the gov- market; all the more closely because gets a liquid secondary market in the world a small fraction of the way deal with other issues, such as the ever – and that is saying something. and G8 countries are way off course ernment routinely runs a fiscal sur- the currencies are linked and Hong government debt to set pricing towards this goal when he met dangers of the weapons remaining It is up to the host country to set the with their aid pledges. The G8 plus rather than deficit and has Kong corporations already use the benchmarks, and he cannot get this Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on high-alert status, pledges of “no tone for the meeting, which involves countries like making promises but mammoth savings rather than debt, US market. They will be disinclined liquidity until he has sated the exist- in Moscow on Monday to announce first use” of the weapons, or a preparing an agenda and chivvying they are less keen on being held to financial services secretary Chan Ka- ing demand for government debt. the outcome of US-Russian talks on commitment to achieving a nuclear the other, reluctant, members of the account for the outcomes. The idea keung isn’t happy to be where his There may also be an adverse im- nuclear disarmament. A Joint weapons convention for the phased, club to sign up to a high-minded of a fireside chat between world counterparts elsewhere only dream We lend money not pact on our monetary and economic Understanding signed in Moscow verifiable, irreversible and initiative to eradicate poverty from leaders might have been a good idea of being. He doesn’t want to be out of stability. The money that he raises by the two presidents gave little transparent elimination of the Africa, tackle climate change and when French president Valery debt. He wants to go into debt. because anyone with his government bonds must be cause for celebration for those who weapons. fight the good fight against Giscard d’Estaing dreamed it up in Admittedly, he doesn’t want the wants to borrow circled back into the financial mar- share Mr Obama’s vision of a world The Joint Understanding is a step protectionism by completing the 1975, but it’s now time to face reality money to pay his bills. He likes debt kets. This poses no great difficulty if without nuclear weapons. in the right direction, but it is a far Doha round of trade talks. The G8 and scrap the G8 altogether. because he wants to broaden the but because we the flow is only moderate, as it is at The agreement said that “within smaller step than might have been commitment to these plans lasts as This is a compelling argument, range of investment choices for local present, but heavier flows may start seven years after this treaty comes hoped for. It is unlikely that the level long as it takes the motorcade to but there are two reasons why it is pension funds and insurance com- want to lend to dictate pricing and allocation of into force, and in future, the limits of reductions envisioned can assure hightail it back to the airport. worth giving the G8 a brief stay of panies. At present they can buy Hong ...... capital, which is a dangerous thing to for strategic delivery systems should that such weapons will not end up in Mr Berlusconi’s failure to play execution. The first is there are many Kong-dollar equities for their portfo- do on the basis of a policy objective be within the range of 500-1,100 the hands of extremists. the game has so embarrassed the examples of where aid has worked. lios but the less risky Hong Kong dol- to switch to the Hong Kong market undertaken for reasons having noth- units and for warheads linked to While surely this is only a first other G8 members that the White Even at a time of tight public lar-bonds are few and little traded. until they get pricing as tight, no easy ing to do with financial prudence. them within the range of 1,500 to step in nuclear disarmament efforts House has taken the unprecedented finances, a promised US$50 billion The government can fix this, Dr goal in competition with the world’s In short, Dr Chan’s Hong Kong 1,675 units”. This will cut the size of by the two leaders, Mr Obama needs step of working up an agenda on increase in aid is chickenfeed, Chan argued in an opinion piece most developed bond market. debt market can easily become a debt the strategic delivery systems by to press harder for more serious Italy’s behalf. There is talk of an particularly when set against published in this section on Tuesday. Second, it is harder to get liquidity elephant that tramples on Hong about a third and the deployed reductions, ones that will be initiative aimed at increasing food defence budgets, but will save many The government can issue bonds to in bonds than in equities as bonds do Kong. If we really need an American- strategic warheads to just slightly sufficient to bring the other nuclear security. Nevertheless, it is a sign of lives and put children in school. raise money that it doesn’t really not have the commonality of ordi- style debt market then debtors and below levels set by presidents states to the table to collectively seek just how bad things are this year that The second is that the G8’s need and, when the bond issuance nary shares. New shares in a share creditors will say so with the interest George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin a world without nuclear weapons. the other members of the G8 are failure is a blow to international co- reaches a certain amount, there will issue are the same as the ones already rates quoted in this market. They say in 2002. On the positive side, the two encouraging speculation that Italy operation at a time when it has be increased liquidity of trading, in existence. New bonds differ at a nothing of the sort at the moment. The agreement deals only with presidents are considering a global might suffer the humiliation of being never been more needed. Pascal more corporations will participate minimum by their coupon rates and ...... strategic offensive weapons, making nuclear summit in 2010. This would replaced by Spain – a country that is Lamy, the director-general of the and a secondary market in Hong their redemption dates. Every bond Jake van der Kamp is a former no provisions for non-strategic or allow perspectives from nuclear and increasing its aid budget rather than World Trade Organisation, says that, Kong-dollar bonds will have been issue is a different bond. The second- Post columnist tactical weapons. These may prove non-nuclear states to be on the table cutting it, and has a higher per if the global community can’t deliver created, just what investors want. ary market is not one but many. to be the most worrisome and for a wider discussion of nuclear capita gross domestic product than on “easy” issues like trade and It is a case of setting the cart before Finally, local companies have tra- Contact us Agree uncontrollable weapons. The threats and security. the host. This is unlikely to happen. development, there is scant hope it the horse, of course. We lend money ditionally been as debt averse as their or disagree with the agreement also makes no provisions ...... But why stop at Italy? Most other can tackle the much thornier issues not because anyone wants to borrow government and may not want to be opinions on this for warheads held in storage. The David Krieger is president of the G8 leaders use the summit as a of global warming or re-regulation of but because we want to lend. Never more indebted. They are happy to in- page? Write to us at two presidents dealt separately with Nuclear Age Peace Foundation glorified photo opportunity; Mr financial markets. mind. Some horses may be better at cur some debt for operating require- [email protected] missile defence forces in Europe, (www.wagingpeace.org), Berlusconi has simply stopped ...... pushing than pulling. ments but real financing comes from If you have an idea for an opinion which the Russians have and a councillor on the pretending that the annual talkfest The Guardian The bigger problem is Dr Chan’s equity issues and accumulated earn- article, e-mail it to [email protected] vehemently opposed, agreeing to World Future Council