US Lawmakers Slam HK Extradition Bill

A US governmental body has hit out at the Hong Kong government's plan to allow extradition to the mainland, warning that it puts the SAR's reputation as a commercial centre in jeopardy.

The Congressional-Executive Commission on China said Hongkongers and foreigners living in the city – including 85,000 Americans – must be protected from the mainland judicial system, which was often used as a "tool of repression".

"The proposed amendments to Hong Kong’s extradition agreements with mainland China, if approved, will erode Hong Kong’s reputation as a centre of commerce governed by the rule of law," the commission said in a statement in the name of its co-chairmen, Republican Senator Marco Rubio and Democrat Congressman James McGovern.

"The Chinese government has subjected both Chinese and foreign nationals to arbitrary detention, coerced confessions, denial of legal representation and medical treatment and other types of mistreatment.

"Those affected have included human rights advocates, lawyers, civil society activists, citizen journalists, ethnic minority populations including Uyghurs and Tibetans, and those previously abducted from Hong Kong—such as booksellers Gui Minhai and Lam Wing-kee."

The commission urged the government to take into account the views of those opposed to the changes, including the international business community and the Bar Association, before putting it to a Legislative Council vote.

The amendments had their first reading in Legco this week.

The administration claims the changes are needed to close a loophole in the law and facilitate extradition to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong does not have formal treaties. It cited a murder case in Taiwan involving a Hong Kong man to justify the proposal.