Hong Kong Chief Justice Andrew Cheung has defended the length of time it has taken the judiciary to hold trials for 47 opposition activists arrested in January 2021. Speaking after attending the opening of the new judicial year on January 24, 2022, Cheung said the courts should not sidestep necessary procedural steps “for the sake of having a speedy trial”. The group of pro-democracy figures and social activists held pre-election primaries in July 2020 that were later declared illegal under the…