The bill has sparked concerns among the pro-democracy camp, human rights groups, the business sector, Taiwan and some foreign powers that anyone, including travellers in Hong Kong, could be caught and transferred to mainland China for political reasons or inadvertent business offences.

The council, which is in charge of dealings with mainland China, said there would be no transfer even if the bill passed as long as the concerns were not addressed.

“Without the removal of threats to the personal safety of [Taiwan] nationals going to or living in Hong Kong caused by being extradited to mainland China, we will not agree to the case-by-case transfer proposed by the Hong Kong authorities,” the council’s deputy minister Chiu Chui-cheng said.

“We want the relevant suspect to face justice but our government cannot ignore damages to the human rights of our nationals.”

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Chiu also referred to the case of Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese human rights activist who went missing during a trip to China in 2017.

Lee was later confirmed to have been arrested by mainland Chinese authorities and sentenced to five years in jail for subverting state power.

Chiu said the Hong Kong government had insisted on the amendment despite public concern.

“We have to ask whether the amendment proposed by the Hong Kong government is politically motivated, as some have speculated,” he said.

If the bill fails, Chiu said, it would be the Hong Kong government’s responsibility to bear.

Lam said on Thursday morning there had been “unnecessary fear” triggered by misunderstanding of the government’s extradition proposal.

“I am saddened by and feel regretful for the conflict between the central government and Hong Kong … that were triggered by extreme speech and unnecessary fear,” she said.

The chief executive hit back at claims mainland China was deliberately excluded as a destination for fugitive transfers when the laws were overhauled before the city’s handover from Britain in 1997.

“It was not what was said, that there were fears over the mainland’s legal system after the handover, or that China had agreed to it,” Lam said.

“This is all trash talk.”

Instead, she claimed, it was because the laws were localised from British legislation, which did not include mainland China as a destination.

Bar Association chairman Philip Dykes disagreed, saying there had been a Chinese Extradition Ordinance during colonial times, which was repealed before the handover.

Under the now-defunct ordinance, Chinese authorities could request nationals who took refuge in Hong Kong after committing a crime across the border.

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“In preparing for [the handover], a decision was made to not go for an [extradition] agreement with the mainland,” Dykes said.

“People must have assessed the situation and decided not to do it.”

According to Legco minutes from 1996, a security official said the matter of surrender of fugitive offenders between Guangdong province and Hong Kong was being discussed separately.

The official also said such an arrangement would require “separate legislation”.

Lawmakers were expected to resume the legislative process of the proposed amendments at a bills committee meeting on Saturday morning. The committee is the body scrutinising the contentious bill.

The pro-democracy Civil Human Rights Front said it would hold a rally outside the Legco complex on Friday night to support pan-democrats ahead of the Saturday meeting.

Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, the front’s convenor, said some protesters might wish to stay overnight, and that the rally would be peaceful.

Meanwhile, electors from about 10 groups in the sports, performing arts, culture and publication sectors urged their Legco representative, pro-Beijing lawmaker Ma Fung-kwok, to oppose the bill.

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Elector and Wan Chai district councillor Clarisse Yeung Suet-ying said groups had gathered more than 1,000 signatures against the bill in a week.

“Since the bill was tabled, Ma has been evasive, hiding within the pro-establishment camp,” Yeung said, adding the lawmaker did not respond to a letter from electors sent on Monday.

Student Chan Tong-kai was jailed for 29 months in Hong Kong last week on money-laundering charges related to the murder in Taiwan. He could be released as early as October on account of time served and other deductions.

Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said it would continue to communicate with Taiwan authorities on the issue.

“We noticed that Taiwan authorities also think the suspect needs to face justice,” a bureau spokesman said. “We will write to them again to explain the legal void and push for cooperation on the relevant case.”