Top Hong Kong officials defend controversial extradition bill, saying alternative proposals will ‘fundamentally change’ legal system
- Justice chief Teresa Cheng says ideas put forward will change tradition that local courts deal only with crimes committed in Hong Kong
- But lawmakers and proponents of alternatives are quick to criticise government’s reasoning
Hong Kong’s security and justice ministers shot down counterproposals to the government’s controversial extradition bill on Tuesday, saying they were “impracticable” and could not help with transferring a suspect wanted for murder in Taiwan.
If passed, the bill will allow the city to conduct the case-by-case transfer of suspects to places it lacks extradition deals with, including Taiwan and mainland China. Officials said the bill had to be passed soon to send a suspect wanted for murder to Taiwan.
Legal experts and lawmakers have raised counterproposals to address concerns, such as that Hongkongers could be extradited to the mainland for political reasons. The suggestions included empowering local courts with extraterritorial judicial powers to hear cases committed by residents outside the city instead of sending them to the mainland.
But Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng Yeuk-wah said the alternative proposals would change the tradition that local courts dealt only with crimes committed in Hong Kong.
“This would bring a fundamental change to Hong Kong’s criminal legal system and the principle of territorial jurisdiction, so this suggestion cannot be adopted carelessly,” Cheng said.