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Lawmaker Helena Wong is among those who have decided to withdraw from the trip. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Pan-democrats boycott China trip over extradition law fears and say top priority is stopping bill that would let Hong Kong send fugitives to the mainland

  • Group of seven withdraw from visit to Shanghai and Hangzhou and say political atmosphere has turned sour
  • Opposition’s attention on amendment that has already had its first reading in Legislative Council

All seven pro-democracy lawmakers who signed up for an official visit to mainland China this month pulled out on Tuesday, and said the political atmosphere had turned sour over a controversial amendment to Hong Kong’s extradition law.

The four-day trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou, which was open to all Legislative Council members, is expected to start on April 21.

The tour aims to help them study the latest economic, financial and technological developments in the cities.

The pan-democrats who were meant to go included Democratic Party lawmakers Helena Wong Pik-wan, Andrew Wan Siu-kin and Lam Cheuk-ting, Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung Ngok-kiu and three from the Professionals Guild: Charles Mok, Kenneth Leung and Ip Kin-yuen.

Wong said the pan-democrats had decided in a meeting on Tuesday afternoon that they should pull out, and that they would still pay for any cost incurred.

Lawmaker Helena Wong is among those who decided to withdraw from the trip. Photo: Jonathan Wong

“At the time we signed up, we didn’t know the amendment bill over extradition laws would be tabled,” Wong said. “Our top priority now is to stay and handle it.”

She was referring to a bill which will allow the transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions the city lacks an extradition deal with, including mainland China, Macau and Taiwan.

The bill was given its first reading at Legco last week, and legislators are expected to form a bills committee to scrutinise it in further detail.

The pro-democracy camp opposes the amendment, saying people could be extradited to places where a fair trial was not guaranteed, such as the mainland.

Wong said the pan-democrats had asked the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau to arrange meetings with central government officials in Shanghai, so they could voice concerns over the amendment.

China’s record on the rule of law hardly inspires trust in Hong Kong

A week had gone by and the request remained unanswered, she said.

Yeung said it would not be suitable for lawmakers to go on the trip, as the amendment bill had created a high degree of controversy.

Kwok Wai-keung, from the Federation of Trade Unions, one of the 23 pro-establishment camp lawmakers set to go on the trip, said it was a pity his pan-democratic colleagues had withdrawn.

“If they join the trip and see for themselves the mainland’s development, they could have more confidence in supporting the extradition bill,” Kwok said.

“But the trip was not related to the bill. It was about finding new opportunities for Hong Kong’s economy by learning from other cities, such as Shanghai, which has been doing well in finance and stock exchange.”

Kwok also questioned if public money would be wasted on flights and hotels because of the group’s decision.

Plans for the trip were unveiled in February, two days after Beijing released a development blueprint for the “Greater Bay Area”, a project to link 11 cities around the Pearl River Delta region to foster growth by boosting infrastructure, innovation, technology and finance.

Officials from the governments of Shanghai and Zhejiang province – where Hangzhou is – were expected to dine with the lawmakers and brief them on regional developments.

The legislators, led by Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen, will visit the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Hangzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, and Alibaba Group, the parent company of the South China Morning Post.

Last year, nine Hong Kong pan-democrats and 23 pro-establishment lawmakers visited five mainland cities around the Pearl River Delta to learn more about the Greater Bay Area project.

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