CE Firm On Extradition, But Offers More Changes

Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Monday said her government would not withdraw its extradition proposal despite a record protest against the controversial amendments the day before, but she promised to further improve the extradition bill.

After the bill came under fire, the government had said it will ask jurisdictions making extradition requests to protect the human rights of suspects. Lam said the government will now make that safeguards legally binding by making a policy statement at the Legislative Council.

Lam also said the government will make regular reports to Legco on the implementation after the legal amendments are passed.

The proposed law change will allow Hong Kong to strike one-off extradition deals with jurisdictions it doesn’t already have a long term agreement with, which prompted worries that Hong Kong people may be sent back to the mainland where their human rights protection is not guaranteed. Business leaders, legal organisations and NGOs had also voiced concern about the bill.

Lam conceded that “a very large number of people” had taken part in Sunday’s protest. But she added there are “opposite views” on the proposal, noting more than three hundred groups have written to the administration to show support for the bill.

She said the government’s responsibility is to accommodate different views and strike a balance, adding recent tweaks to the proposals showed clearly the government had been listening to the people.

She also dismissed suggestions that the SAR government is acting on the instruction of Beijing to push ahead with the bill, but out of its “clear conscience and [its] commitment to Hong Kong”.

Lam also rejected calls for her to step down.

“I have been the Chief Executive of Hong Kong for about two years, I have spent every moment of my time to work for the benefit of Hong Kong – every aspect," she said in an emotional reply. " It’s not just on improving the justice system, it’s also on pushing Hong Kong’s economic development and addressing livelihood issues like housing and poverty, and so on,"

"So I think I will continue to do this in my utmost ability and to address the issues and concerns of Hong Kong people,” Lam said.

“Especially at a time when our economy is going to undergo some very severe challenges because of the external uncertainties, I think it’s all the more important for us to have a stable team, to rise to the challenges and to resolve many of the difficult areas that we are going to face,” she said.

The bill's second reading will resume in Legco on Wednesday.