Starry Lee Puts Off Decision On Extradition Panel

The chairwoman of Legco's House Committee, Starry Lee, on Friday deferred making a decision on how to end the council's deadlock over the scrutiny of controversial extradition law amendments, giving lawmakers until Tuesday to put their views on the matter to her in writing.

Lee had earlier suggested that she could move to strip the paralysed bills committee on the legislation of its role in the affair by setting up a select committee to look at the bill instead, or by discussing the legislation at the House Committee.

The government was also reported to be on the verge of announcing that the bill would be put directly to the full council.

Lee said that after lawmakers have expressed their views on the way forward, the matter will be addressed again by the House Committee, at a special meeting if necessary.

A campaign of filibustering by pan-democrats fiercely opposed to the extradition law plans had initially led to painfully slow progress at the bills committee meetings, before this later descended into farce and even violence as both the pro-democracy and pro-establishment camps claimed to have the right to control the committee until a chairman was elected.

The government is adamant that the law changes, which will allow one-off extraditions to any place in the world, must be passed before the summer in order to send a Hong Kong man to Taiwan to face trial for the murder of his girlfriend on the island.

Critics say the Taiwan murder case is just being used as an excuse and the real purpose of the law change is to enable mainland authorities to demand the surrender of Hong Kong residents, even if they are wanted for political reasons.