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Letters | Hong Kong move on China extradition deal has dealt another blow to public trust
- Could proposed extradition deal be Article 23 in disguise?
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Personally I agree with the opinions of Michael Chugani (“Distrust of Beijing is at the heart of Hongkongers’ opposition to extraditing fugitives to the mainland”, February 21), but I would like to express my own views on the matter.
Certainly, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor understands the difficulties of getting Article 23 through the Legislative Council. And any move to raise this issue may cause turmoil in society. The Hong Kong government has been very smart to make use of a recent criminal case in Taiwan to justify its bid to change extradition terms to also include mainland China (“Taipei won’t sign any extradition deal with Hong Kong if it implies Taiwan is part of China”, February 22).
But this piece of legislation could be just an excuse to bypass ratifying Article 23, rendering the local government able to exercise the essence of Article 23 without its passage through Legco.
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The public can see what the government is trying to do here, but Carrie Lam cannot feel the public pulse – which beats with a deep-rooted distrust of Beijing and the Hong Kong administration that affects the old, the middle-aged and the young alike.
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I believe the government’s move has demonstrated how and why young people do not trust the government. The government should not put the blame on Liberal Studies for the biased views of the younger generation, but on its own actions.
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