Extraditions from Hong Kong to rest of China violate Basic Law, argue lawyers for fugitive tycoon Joseph Lau in judicial review
- Former chairman of Chinese Estates Holdings, jailed in absentia for more than five years in Macau, submitted amendments to legal challenge last week
- The government’s plan has already drawn ire from across society, and led to chaos in the legislature
A convicted billionaire looking to avoid being sent to Macau under a controversial Hong Kong government extradition plan will argue the proposed new law would violate the city’s mini-constitution.
Lawyers for Joseph Lau Luen-hung said excluding the rest of China from local extradition law is a core part of the principles under which the city is governed.
That was one of a set of new arguments submitted to the High Court last week in amendments to Lau’s application for a judicial review of proposed legal changes, which would allow the handover of fugitives to any jurisdiction the city has no extradition deal with, including mainland China and Macau.
The proposal has already met firm resistance elsewhere, with pan-democrats, legal experts and some business leaders saying it could lead to Hongkongers being prosecuted for political reasons on the mainland.
If the High Court rules in the tycoon’s favour, he will avoid being returned to Macau, where in 2014 he was jailed in absentia for more than five years for his part in a bribes-for-land scandal.