Pro-establishment camp seizes control of bill committee scrutinising Hong Kong’s controversial extradition law
- Lawmakers vote to replace veteran pan-democrat James To with pro-establishment Abraham Razack as chair of extradition bill committee
- A meeting of the committee scheduled for Monday is pushed back until next week, the second delay after a pan-democrat filibuster in April
Hong Kong’s pro-establishment bloc gained the upper hand in its push for controversial amendments to the city’s extradition laws on Monday, after ousting a pan-democrat who played a key role in the opposition’s filibuster effort.
The pan-democrats said they would ignore the ousting order and threatened to take legal action against Kenneth Chen Wei-on, the Legislative Council’s secretary general, whom they said had breached his duty by helping their rivals unseat the Democratic Party’s James To Kun-sun from presiding over the committee that scrutinises the amendment bill.
The contentious bill would allow case-by-case transfers of fugitives to places Hong Kong lacks a formal extradition agreement with – including mainland China and Taiwan. It is strongly opposed by critics who do not trust the legal system in mainland China and fear Hongkongers may be victimised for political reasons.
Officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Chan Tong-kai, 20, who is wanted in Taiwan for his girlfriend’s murder. Chan was jailed for 29 months on related money-laundering charges by the High Court last week and could be released as early as October.
The committee was expected to meet for the third time on Monday afternoon, having yet to elect a chairman.