Paul Tse Vows To Keep Order If Elected Panel Chair

Pro-establishment lawmaker Paul Tse, who is expected to chair a Legco bills committee that will examine proposed extradition laws, said on Tuesday that if elected, he will stop legislators from expressing unrelated or repetitive remarks.

The bills committee on the controversial legal amendments is to hold its first meeting on Wednesday and Tse is tipped to be elected as chairman of the panel.

Opposition lawmakers, who are against the plans, have already signalled that they will try to delay passage of the bill, which is to enable Hong Kong to detain and surrender people wanted by any other jurisdiction in the world, including the mainland.

Tse said he would strictly follow the rules and procedures as chairman of the committee, because time is limited.

But he said he hasn't come up with any plan yet. "It depends on how many lawmakers really want to usefully express their views instead of just playing antics, if you like, to pursue their political needs," Tse said.

He said it would be almost impossible to pass the bill before April 29, when a Hong Kong man wanted by Taiwan for allegedly murdering his girlfriend is due to be sentenced over money laundering charges.

"Obviously we have to see what the [security] bureau has to say if the case results in an immediate release of the defendant concerned, whether there is still an urgency for us to press on," he said.

Tse told RTHK's Janice Wong that people should not look at the issue simply in terms of the surrender of fugitives between Hong Kong and the mainland, but in a global perspective as countries are increasing their cooperation against crime.