Hong Kong extradition law needs revising because it was ‘rushed’ and current arrangement is impractical, Security Bureau tells Legislative Council

Responding to questions from Legco’s legal adviser, the bureau said the extradition law was passed just three months before the 1997 handover

Under existing ad hoc arrangement, which has never been used, one-off extradition requests must be approved by lawmakers

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Guangdong Police hand over three suspects in a goldsmiths robbery case to Hong Kong Police at Huanggang port. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 7:00am, 16 May 2019Updated: 7:00am, 16 May 2019

Hong Kong’s extradition law needed revising because the current mechanism on ad hoc fugitive transfers was impractical and had “possibly been rushed through” when it was passed into law 22 years ago, security officials told the Legislative Council on Wednesday.

The Security Bureau was responding to dozens of questions on the controversial extradition bill raised by Legco’s legal adviser. The bill, if passed, would allow a case-by-case transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions Hong Kong does not have a deal with, including mainland China, Taiwan and Macau.

But the bill has triggered a political storm, with the pro-democracy camp fighting it amid fears it might be used to prosecute people for political reasons. It has also aroused concern among the business sector and some overseas governments, and prompted a mass protest in the city in April.

Officials, however, have stressed the urgency of passing the bill to allow the transfer of murder suspect Chan Tong-kai, 20, to Taiwan, as he could be released from jail on a related offence in Hong Kong as early as October, leaving him free to flee the city and potentially evade extradition.

Legco legal adviser Timothy Tso asked why the government now considered the current arrangement impractical. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Under the current Fugitives Offenders Ordinance, the administration can make a special one-off arrangement to send a suspect to any jurisdiction without a formal agreement, but it must be first gazetted and then get approval from lawmakers before the suspect can be transferred.