The gruesome Taiwan murder that lies behind Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam’s extradition push
- Suspect in death of pregnant Hongkonger killed on holiday cannot stand trial because there is no agreement between two places
- Backlash from business community means plan has been watered down, but doubts remain at home and abroad
The government set off a storm on February 12 when it proposed legislative amendments to allow the surrender of fugitives to jurisdictions in which the city had no extradition deal, including Macau, Taiwan and the mainland.
The policy change is aimed at plugging loopholes exposed by a homicide case in February last year, in which Taiwanese authorities were unable to prosecute a Hongkonger accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in Taipei before fleeing to Hong Kong.
As it stands, suspects can be surrendered to one of the 20 countries with which Hong Kong has an extradition deal. The 46 offences they can be handed over for include murder, hacking, smuggling and tax evasion, as well as 15 corporate crimes such as fraud, corruption and money laundering.
On the day when the Security Bureau’s proposal was revealed, opposition lawmakers such as James To Kun-sun of the Democratic Party were quick to warn that Beijing would be empowered to ask for political dissidents in Hong Kong to be handed back to the mainland.
