Beijing, HK Hit Out At France On Extradition

The central and Hong Kong governments on Tuesday strongly criticised France, after the foreign ministry in Paris announced that it was suspending the implementation of an extradition treaty with the SAR.

French officials said they would not go through with the treaty, agreed three years ago, saying Beijing's implementation of new national security legislation for the SAR undermined Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy.

"Not only does the national security law for Hong Kong follow the principle of 'one country, two systems', it furthers ensure this principle can be sustained in a stable manner," Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman, told a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong government said in a statement late on Tuesday that France's justification for scrapping the extradition deal was nothing more than an excuse and would allow criminals to avoid justice.

France follows countries including Britain, Germany and Australia in scrapping extradition deals with Hong Kong.