Extradition Process Will Be Centralised Says Lee

The Security Secretary John Lee says only high-level mainland authorities, such as the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice, will be able to request an extradition from Hong Kong, should the government's controversial new extradition plan go ahead.

"I have communicated with my counterparts in the mainland,' he said. "The initial response that was given to me has been that they will centralise to ensure that the cases, that are dealt with, are cases that are worth the consideration of both places."

The government plans to allow extradition to jurisdictions with which it does not have an agreement, including the mainland.

The move has been criticised by rights groups, chambers of commerce and many pro-business legislators, who have doubts about the rule of law on the mainland and the arbitrary way in which the process might be applied to business. This has led to the government removing nine white-collar crimes from its plan.

But the government insists it is still necessary to have an extradition procedure in place for such jurisdictions. In particular, the Chief Executive Carrie Lam points to the case of a Hong Kong man who is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend and is now on remand here after fleeing the island.

Lee also said he believed the press would be one of the checks and balances to any future extradition.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung defended the decision to drop several white-collar offences from the proposed legal amendments, saying it was not done in favour of the business sector.

The changes were made after business leaders expressed fears executives could find themselves surrendered to mainland authorities.

Cheung said it was a “pragmatic” response to the sector’s biggest concern, as well as the views of the public.

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