After his fifth case of plagiarism – and several reprimands – High Court Judge William Chan ‘takes early retirement’. HKFP reports…
In the latest instance of plagiarism, Chan was found to have copied large parts of the defence’s opening and closing arguments in a HK$40 million shares dispute between Koo Ming-kown, the founder of digital products company Nam Tai Electronics, and Koo’s former brother-in-law.
…The Court of Appeal found Chan had plagiarised during two separate cases in 2025, according to local media outlet The Witness.
In 2023, he was also found to have copied the majority of the plaintiff’s written submission in his judgement after the defendant lodged an appeal in a trademark dispute case involving two pharmaceutical brands.
That same year, Chan was also found to have plagiarised in a case concerning real estate giant Great Eagle Holdings. The defendant, who lost the case, filed an appeal accusing Chan of lifting large parts of the plaintiff’s submissions.
He also handled the early stages of the HK47 pan-democrat politicians’ NatSec trial.
Desmond Shum post on China’s new ‘deliberately broad and highly discretionary’ tax rules on offshore trusts…
For China’s wealthy, the implications extend well beyond paying more tax. Offshore trusts lose much of their value as asset-protection vehicles. Many families will now be looking to diversify not only their assets, but also their residency, citizenship and long-term wealth structures further away from China before additional restrictions emerge.
…Capital markets are also likely to feel the effects. Hong Kong’s, and to an extent Singapore’s, offshore wealth-management industry has been built in large part around mainland Chinese clients. The immediate impact from forced asset sales to meet tax liabilities may be manageable. The more important question is where Chinese wealth goes next.
Early retirement is probably rather better than being fired in terms of the gold-plated defined-benefit pension for life that he will receive.
One might be led to believe it is all a deliberate plan to let himself be removed from the system where there is no easy way to bail out.
“The more important question is where Chinese wealth goes next.”
The only jurisdictions with sufficient spine to resist Chinese government pressure to give up fleeing miscreants and their assets are the United States and possibly Japan.
Oh, the irony.
OT, a little light relief from the BBC
UK funeral director faces jail over bodies left ‘on racks’
Police searched his premises and found 31 bodies in a cold storage area that should have been cremated months earlier
Burning question: How do you cremate a cold storage area?
Headline 6 days ago “High Court judge to be reprimanded again for plagiarism as Judiciary flags ‘substantial’ copying”.
The ‘resignation’ is an about turn.
So our Chief Justice has obviously had a call from Beijing pointing out that this response is not in line with the hard line re disipline within the system.
So now pundits like RonnyTong have had to rephrase their response to the about the U-turn.
A classic case of ‘A Week in Politics”.
“The more important question is where Chinese wealth goes next.”
Gulf states. Islamic banking. Sharia law. Just look at that “Binance” bro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9iZ10yIRwM
@Benedict Arnold: The evidence of it happening in Japan is already widely felt and seen. Xenophobia being properly whipped up into a creamy froth.
Big news on BBC HK https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/press-releases/article/hong-kong-ifj-calls-for-independent-review-of-practices-at-bbc-hong-kong-bureau
@Chinese Netizen
Do you think the Gulf States will stand up to the CCP when they come looking for absconders and their assets?
The Arabs will be lining up to surrender the quarry for a cut of the loot.
A few years ago I saw a copy of Desmond Shum’s book for sale in a branch of Commercial Press, which I have read is owned/controlled by the Guangzzhou government. I feel like checking if they have the biography of Jimmy Lai in stock these days.
TBH the HK/Singapore instrument is frequently only the first rock on the Mainland hop-skip- and jump, then it goes to Cayman/BVI and then somewhere else from there