Hong Kong extradition bill: fears over mainland China’s judicial system need to be addressed, says Zhang Xiaoming, Beijing’s top official for the city

China’s top official in charge of Hong Kong affairs has urged both the local and central governments to do more to allay fears in the city over the controversial extradition bill, as 12 legal heavyweights jointly expressed “dismay” at the government’s insistence on pushing it through the legislature.

Zhang Xiaoming, director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, also called for rational debate over the bill as he met a delegation on Wednesday from local think tank Path of Democracy, led by Ronny Tong Ka-wah, a cabinet adviser to Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor.

“He recognises there’s work to be done by both the Hong Kong and central governments to allay the fears of people in the city,” Tong said, noting Zhang had raised the issue of the extradition bill when he talked about Hongkongers’ concerns about mainland China’s judicial system.

Tong, however, said there was no discussion during the two-hour meeting about any possible concessions over the controversial bill, which would allow fugitives to be transferred from Hong Kong to other jurisdictions with which it has no extradition deal, including the mainland.

Opposition to the bill has blown up into a political crisis for Lam’s administration because of serious domestic and international concerns among those who fear the possibility of politically motivated persecution under mainland China's legal system.