Legal scholar Johannes Chan guides us through London; law is a double-edged sword, because it can restrict as well as protect basic rights; people are being detained for prolonged periods before trial under the National Security Law, but we can’t give up fighting for justice within the system

The second episode of Hongkongers: A Re-Collection features Professor Johannes Chan. The scholar specialises in human rights, constitutional and administrative law. He was the longest serving dean of the University of Hong Kong’s law faculty and held the position from 2002 to 2014. He pursued a Masters degree in London after graduating from the University of Hong Kong with a degree in law in 1981. He chose to study human rights, a subject which was less popular at the time but has since risen to prominence in Hong Kong.

As he has returned to London, Professor Chan shows viewers around the city’s higher courts and major legal institutions. He explains justice, which underpins the development of common law in England.

“Law can protect basic rights, and it can also restrict fundamental rights. Law is a double-edged sword. The whole purpose of law is to uphold justice.”

Noting that the National Security Law would lead to the downfall of Hong Kong’s legal system, the academic still believes in the fighting for justice within the system.

In addition to profiling individual Hongkongers and publishing their stories, Hongkongers: A Re-Collection aims to work together with people around the world to witness and chronicle the transnational activities of this diaspora group.