Lawmakers Face Barred Doors Ahead Of Meeting

Pan-democratic lawmakers hoping to steal a march on their pro-establishment rivals with a meeting on Tuesday morning have found their way into a Legislative Council meeting blocked.

The Democratic Party's James To, who is recognised by the pan-democratic camp as the chairman of the bills committee looking into extradition laws, has called a meeting for 8.15am on Tuesday. Pro-Beijing lawmakers and the Legco secretariat, who do not recognise Mr To, have called a meeting for 8.30am.

A similar situation occurred on Saturday, when some pan-democrats stayed in the Legco complex overnight ahead of a meeting. This time, Legco guards have locked two meeting rooms, with a metal bar padlocked across the front of one of them.

Saturday's meeting saw scuffles between members of the rival camps as pan-democrats surrounded lawmaker Abraham Shek, whom the pro-Beijing camp and secretariat say should preside over the meeting.

At issue is the government's proposal to allow the chief executive to instigate the surrender of fugitives to any jurisdiction, regardless of whether an extradition deal is in place. Supporters say the changes will close a loophole, while critics say it is designed to send people to face unfair trials on the mainland.