HK Suspending Extradition Deals With Three Countries

The SAR government on Tuesday said it had issued notices to the Canadian, Australian, and UK consulates here to halt Hong Kong’s mutual legal assistance agreements on criminal matters with them.

It said this was done “in accordance with the instruction of the Central People's Government”.

A spokesman noted that all three countries have laws to safeguard their national security and sovereignty, and criticised them for unilaterally suspended the fugitive-transfer agreements “using the enactment of the national security law in Hong Kong as an excuse.”

“It smacks of political manipulation and double standards”, he said.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry had earlier blasted the countries over the same matter.

A spokesman, Wang Wenbin, told a daily briefing that the three countries' decision to suspend extradition agreements with Hong Kong over the new law constituted a gross interference in China's internal affairs.

"China has decided to suspend extradition treaties between Hong Kong and Canada, Australia and UK, as well as criminal justice cooperation agreements," Wang said.

"The wrong action of Canada, Australia and the UK in politicising judicial cooperation with Hong Kong has seriously hurt the basis of judicial cooperation."

Beijing also said China reserves the right to take action against New Zealand after it became the latest country to suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over the national security law.

"New Zealand can no longer trust that Hong Kong’s criminal justice system is sufficiently independent from China," Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement on Tuesday.

"If China in future shows adherence to the One Country, Two Systems framework then we could reconsider this decision."

Travel advice has been updated to alert New Zealanders to the risks presented by the new security law, he added.

The Chinese embassy in New Zealand, for its part, called Wellington's decision to suspend the extradition treaty a violation of international law and gross interference in China's internal affairs.

"The Chinese side has lodged its grave concern and strong opposition," an embassy representative said in a website statement.

Australia, Canada and the UK suspended extradition treaties with Hong Kong earlier this month. US President Donald Trump has ended preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong.

Critics have said the Hong Kong security law is an erosion of civil liberties and human rights in the financial hub.

But Wang accused some countries of having used the new law as "an excuse to unilaterally announce the suspension of extradition treaties" with Hong Kong. (RTHK/AFP/Reuters)

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