Andrew Wan To Push New Alternative On Extraditions

Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan said on Sunday that he is going to table a new proposal on the city's extradition arrangements, as the government continues to face fierce opposition to its plans to make surrendering crime suspects easier.

Wan said his law amendment would give Hong Kong courts the jurisdiction to try another eight crimes committed overseas, including murder and manslaughter, if either the suspect or the victim was an SAR resident.

He noted that this arrangement would cover the 2018 murder of a Hong Kong woman in Taipei, allegedly by her Hong Kong boyfriend who returned to the SAR and could not be put on trial in Taiwan.

Wan said he believes his proposal is feasible and he urged the Department of Justice to look into it as soon as possible.

The Civic Party's Alvin Yeung had already announced that he would table a private member's bill to give the SAR's courts extraterritorial jurisdiction over serious crimes committed elsewhere, pointing out that they already have the power to put people on trial for alleged child sexual abuse that takes place overseas.

The government's plan to allow one-off extradition deals to any jurisdiction in the world – including the mainland – has been criticised by human rights groups, journalists' associations and foreign politicians, as well as the local business sector which managed to secure some concessions regarding the types of offences that would be covered.

Pro-Beijing academic Albert Chen has also suggested that Hong Kong should retain the right to refuse to hand SAR residents over to the mainland, while pro-government legislator Michael Tien has written to Chief Executive Carrie Lam asking her to withdraw the controversial amendment bill.