HongKong launches new law of extradition despite opposition
The leadership of Hong Kong has launched laws for changing the rules of extradition for allowing people to be sent back to mainland China for any trial, thereby standing against the growing opposition to a move which had the potential of eroding the legal protection of the city.
As per the new laws which have been presented to the Legislative Council on Wednesday, the Chief Executive Carrie Lam will have the right to order the extradition of all wanted offenders to China, Macau and Taiwan as well as other countries which do not fall under the existing extradition treaties of Hong Kong. The bill had been introduced after a case last year after a man had killed his pregnant girlfriend while he was on a holiday in Taiwan. He could not be extradited as both Taipei and Hong Kong do not have an extradition agreement. The Bill has finally become a diplomatic storm as both Hong Kong and Beijing consider Taiwan to be a part of China. The officials of Taiwan have spoken against the agreement as there are fears it could coerce it to acknowledge the sovereignty of Beijing. The business community and even many human rights activists have raised concerns about the law.
Emily Lau, who is a former Democratic Party leader, has said that even with the safeguards which have been guaranteed the ordinary people will find the extradition to China as unacceptable. Even the Bar Association of Hong King has not given its support to the bill due to many aspects of the revised bill. The body stated that, “This restriction against any surrender arrangements with the rest of China, whether under a long-term formal arrangement or case-based arrangements, is not a ‘loophole’ as repeatedly, and in our view, misleadingly, asserted by the senior government officials on various occasions and now in the LegCo Brief.”
Many people held protests against the laws, in chorus with many international business elites to rights’ groups and even some people who favoured the establishment. A small group of supporters of the Bill held a brief face-off with the opponents but there was no violence reported. People fear
