Letters | Why Hong Kong can’t seal the deal with mainland China on extradition

In his February 28 opinion piece, Ronny Tong Ka-wah attempts to make the point that an extradition agreement with mainland China would be beneficial to Hong Kong’s rule of law, stating that: “extradition arrangements the world over are needed not for the convenience of the requesting country but because the rule of law dictates that no one is above the law and there should not be havens for criminals in any modern society” (“Extradition agreement with the mainland would uphold rule of law”).

That is true when such agreements exist between jurisdictions that have similarly mature justice systems and therefore can ensure the fairness of the process in the extraditing country. According to the World Justice Project, Hong Kong’s justice system ranks at 16 out of 126 countries covered, while China is at 82.