'Public Will Never Accept Extradition To Mainland'

Civic Party lawmaker Kwok Ka-ki says the public will never willingly accept the government's proposed changes to the extradition laws, which would open the way for fugitives to be sent for trial on the mainland.

Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong programme,Kwok said the issue had not been up for debate since the handover, as there was a need to maintain a firewall between the legal systems of the SAR and the mainland.

He said there were many concerns with the proposal, and the "arrogant" attitude of Chief Executive Carrie Lam's administration has not helped.

"The response made by Carrie Lam in Legco recently did not help," Kwok said. "Her arrogant speech and points made during the question and answer session actually made thing worse.

"Her claims that all opinion against the passing of the amendment was 'trash talk' clearly stirred up the emotion of the city, particularly many of the Hong Kong people who did not trust the legal system of the mainland."

He also pointed to strong turnout at protests against changes to the extradition law, as members of the public "realise that the government is not listening, and is prepared to force through the legislation despite strong opposition."

The government has pointed to the case of a Hong Kong man accused of murdering his girlfriend in Taiwan as justification for changing the law. Under its proposals, the chief executive would be able to initiate proceedings to send fugitives to any jurisdiction, regardless of whether an extradition agreement is in place.

However Kwok pointed out that Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council had said Taipei would not accept the legal amendment.