Legal adviser to Hong Kong’s legislature questions why mainland China is not excluded from controversial extradition bill

Both Legislative Council’s legal division and prominent scholar Albert Chen raise doubts on amendment ahead of a key meeting among lawmakers

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Opposition lawmakers protest during a meeting on the extradition bill at the Legislative Council. Photo: Nora Tam

Published: 10:37pm, 3 May 2019Updated: 10:49am, 4 May 2019

The row over a contentious proposal to amend Hong Kong’s extradition laws has deepened, with the legal adviser to the legislature questioning why mainland China is not excluded and a prominent law expert suggesting local suspects be exempt from transferral across the border.

Both the Legislative Council’s legal division and scholar Albert Chen Hung-yee, a member of the Basic Law Committee, raised doubts on the amendment ahead of a showdown meeting among lawmakers on Saturday. That meeting will discuss a motion by the pro-government camp to unseat a rival who presides over the committee that will scrutinise the extradition bill.

Government officials have stressed the urgency of passing the bill in time to extradite Hongkonger Chan Tong-kai, 20. Chan is wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his girlfriend, but could be released as early as October after he was jailed for 29 months on a related money-laundering charge by the High Court on Monday.

If passed, the amendment will allow case-by-case fugitive transfers with jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including Taiwan and the mainland.

But in a letter to the Security Bureau dated April 30, Legco’s legal adviser raised dozens of questions about the proposal, including whether the government had changed its policy on seeking a formal extradition agreement with the mainland.