Two senior British judges recently resigned from Hong Kong's top appeals court as international concerns mounted over the rule of law in the city following the recent convictions of 14 prominent democratic activists amid a national security crackdown.
"Hong Kong, once a vibrant and politically diverse community is slowly becoming a totalitarian state. The rule of law is profoundly compromised in any area about which the government feels strongly," wrote one of the judges, Jonathan Sumption, in an editorial in the Financial Times on June 10.
Another judge on the court, Beverley McLachlin, announced on Monday that she would step down when her three-year term expired on July 29.