Lawyers Hold Rare Protest Over Fugitive Law Bill

Hundreds of lawyers on Thursday held a rare protest march against the government's plan to amend extradition laws to allow the surrender of fugitives to other jurisdictions, including the mainland.

The lawyers marched in silence from the Court of Final Appeal in Central to the government's headquarters at Tamar to protest against the contentious bill.

A round of applause from onlookers greeted the lawyers as they set off from the court. At the front of the rally were several current and former opposition lawmakers such as Dennis Kwok, Albert Ho, Alan Leong and Martin Lee.

This kind of protest by lawyers in Hong Kong is a rare event and has happened only five times since the city came under Chinese rule in 1997.

The last time lawyers organised a silent protest rally was when Beijing interpreted the Basic Law during the oath-taking controversy, which eventually saw several directly elected opposition lawmakers losing their seat.

Before the rally started, former bar association head Ronny Wong said the march was aimed at protecting Hong Kong's rule of law.

"The firewall is being demolished without any justification. So we come out and explain to the citizens of Hong Kong the reason why it is a risk," he said.

Wong also ridiculed the so-called safeguards being offered by the government against the misuse of the planned provisions. "Those are jokes," he said. "They don't meet the points that we have been making for weeks. And the justification put forward is really false."

In a related development, a group of about 20 lawyers who back the extradition move demonstrated outside the government's offices and handed over a letter to security bureau officials, offering their support.

Maggie Chan, the founding president of the Hong Kong Small and Medium Law Firms Association, said the amendments have responded to public demands and struck a proper balance between the need to combat serious cross-border crimes and human rights protection, in line with One Country, Two Systems and international standards.

In response to the march, the Department of Justice said the amendment bill aims to deal with the Taiwan murder case, and seeks to plug loopholes in the current regime for legal co-operation in criminal matters.

It stressed that the existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance has been operating effectively for more than 20 years since its enactment, striking a balance between the pursuit of fugitives and the protection of human rights.