Business groups back former Hong Kong police chief’s proposal to ‘extradite killers first; worry about white-collar crimes later’ for fugitive transfers
- Former police chief offers solution to thorny issue of getting public support for deal with other jurisdictions, including mainland China
- Hong Kong government has faced severe blowback from proposal to start handing over fugitives on a case-by-case basis
At least two local business groups on Monday backed a watered-down, two-stage extradition deal with mainland China floated by a former Hong Kong police chief which would allow transfers for violent offences first and white-collar crimes later.
Andy Tsang Wai-hung’s suggestion came as the government faced a backlash over its proposal to change the law to allow the handing over of fugitives on a case-by-case basis to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong lacks an extradition agreement, including mainland China, Taiwan and Macau.
The development also came as the five leading local chambers of commerce and the Hong Kong Business Community Joint Conference – an umbrella group of 100 trade associations – were set to meet Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu in the coming two weeks to voice their concerns over the government’s proposal.
