Hong Kong is pushing forward with plans to change its laws to allow for the extradition of criminals to China for the first time, prompting widespread protests and fears for the territory’s judicial independence.
Proposed amendments to Hong Kong’s extradition laws were yesterday introduced at the Hong Kong Legislative Council after thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Sunday.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam (林鄭月娥) defended the proposals, which would give her the power to order the transfer of suspects to China.
Photo: AP
Current Hong Kong law bars any renditions to the mainland or other jurisdictions of the People’s Republic of China.
“If you are of the view there is no independent judiciary in Hong Kong ... it is nonsense ... You are insulting ourselves, because we have set up a very independent judiciary,” Lam said.
Pro-democracy lawmakers shouted during the session and about 20 walked out.
Under the terms of Hong Kong’s return to Chinese control in 1997, the former British colony is meant to enjoy a “high degree of autonomy” from the mainland, with its own judicial and legislative systems.
Critics worry the proposed extradition arrangement would further erode the territory’s rule of law and independence.
The push to change the extradition law stems from the killing of a Hong Kong woman while on a Valentine’s trip with her boyfriend to Taiwan last year.
The woman’s boyfriend, suspected of her murder, can only be tried in Taiwan, but because Hong Kong has no extradition agreement with Taiwan, he has remained in Hong Kong.
Those in support of the amendments say they would close such legal loopholes and protect Hong Kong from becoming a “paradise for criminals.”
However, critics worry it would result in regular extradition requests from Beijing, which the pro-Beijing Hong Kong government would likely honor.
“How can you expect our chief executive to say no when faced by the central government?” said Eric Cheung (張達明), a legal expert at the University of Hong Kong.
Since the handover, Hong Kong has not allowed the extradition of criminals or suspects to the mainland specifically because of the lack of legal protections for those tried in Chinese courts, said the Hong Kong Bar Association, which opposes the bill.
Arbitrary detentions, forced confessions, torture, detention without trial, the use of trumped up or vague charges, and the denial of lawyers of one’s choosing are common in China.
“There is no way the Hong Kong government or Hong Kong courts can ensure that the person extradited back to China can have a fair trial. How can we guarantee that the person will have access to lawyers? How can we ensure that this person will not be subject to violence or threats to coerce him to plead guilty?” Cheung said.
The arrangement could make it easier for Beijing to seek retribution for cases such as the arrest of Huawei Technologies Co (華為) chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou (孟晚舟) in Canada at the request of the US, Hong Kong Legislator Dennis Kwok (郭榮鏗) said.
“What could be possible is that the Chinese government will weaponize and use this system against foreign nationals doing business or passing through Hong Kong,” he said.
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