Hong Kong’s plan to allow extraditions to mainland China and Taiwan likely to be uneven, scholars say

A plan to allow the transfer of fugitives from Hong Kong to places such as mainland China and Taiwan has been criticised as unfair after scholars pointed out it would not be reciprocal due to legal roadblocks on the other side. Law academics in the city said the imbalance was because of different systems among the three jurisdictions, while pan-democrats slammed the government for making the unilateral move, rather than striking separate extradition arrangements. Hong Kong’s Security Bureau last month raised a contentious proposal to amend current law to allow transfers of fugitives on a case-by-case basis to any jurisdiction that the city has not entered into a treaty with, including mainland China and Taiwan. The amendment was prompted by a recent homicide case in which Hong Kong authorities were unable to extradite a resident to Taiwan. The man is suspected to have killed his girlfriend on the self-ruled island. Hong Kong may drop some white-collar crimes from extradition proposal But two experts on mainland laws pointed out that the deal was unlikely to be reciprocal. University of Hong Kong law professor Fu Hualing said: “Hong Kong can extradite fugitives who are its residents, as that’s the common law system of doing things.” He was referring to the city’s legal framework, inherited from Britain. But mainland China and Taiwan, which practise civil law, would not do the same and could reserve the right to try cases locally, Fu said. Indeed, current extradition laws in both jurisdictions state that requests to hand over their own citizens should be rejected. If mainlanders killed someone or robbed a shop in Hong Kong [and crossed the border], we may have no way to get them back here, because we don’t have a long-term agreement with mainland China James To, legislator An example would be the 2015 kidnap of Queenie Rosita Law, heiress of fashion chain Bossini. While the incident happened in Hong Kong, eight gang members – including a Hongkonger – arrested by Guangdong police were eventually jailed by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court. The seven mainlanders, including the ringleader, were handed sentences of three to 15 years. The Hong Kong man, who was paid to deliver jewellery across the border, was sentenced to one year and 10 months by the Shenzhen court. Zheng Xingwang, a mainlander, was put on trial in Hong Kong for delivering food for the gang, and jailed for 12 years – a punishment much harsher than was meted out to some of his accomplices on the mainland. Democratic Party lawmaker James To Kun-sun said the case exposed the limitations of the government’s current extradition proposal. “If mainlanders killed someone or robbed a shop in Hong Kong [and crossed the border], we may have no way to get them back here, because we don’t have a long-term agreement with mainland China,” To said. Although mainland authorities have the option of suing fugitives over a crime in Hong Kong, thereby recognising the location of the offence, To said, the city still had no say in proceedings. “It’s about achieving justice in Hong Kong,” he said. Instead of pushing ahead with an “unfair” and unilateral deal, To said, the local government should have worked on a proper extradition agreement with mainland China, something it had failed to do over the past two decades. Senior counsel Ronny Tong Ka-wah, an adviser to Hong Kong’s leader in the Executive Council, said the new proposal was not meant to resolve the situation. “The government proposal has always been about the unilateral transfer of fugitives [from Hong Kong] to any place,” Tong said. He said some countries could refuse extradition of their own citizens, and it was not unfair if Taiwan or mainland China did not transfer their fugitives to Hong Kong. “The transfer is not about deal-making ... it’s about defending the rule of law and achieving justice. There’s no reason not to transfer fugitives to requesting jurisdictions.” Hong Kong protests planned against fugitive extradition law While backing the proposal, Fu and Professor Lin Feng from City University’s law school urged the government to clarify the law and ensure reciprocal transfer of fugitives. “It is a bargaining process – we can’t only ask for mainland fugitives without sending Hongkongers up north,” Fu said. Lin also said the Hong Kong government should spell out in the bill that it reserved the right not to hand over permanent residents. “Then that would include sufficient safeguard,” he added. A Security Bureau spokeswoman would not comment on whether mainlanders who committed crimes in Hong Kong and fled across the border could be brought back to face justice. But she added that under the new proposal Hong Kong would have full discretion on requests for extradition.