Hong Kong government slammed in ombudsman ruling on suppression of public feedback to extradition bill

Watchdog upholds complaint against Security Bureau’s refusal to publish submissions from Hongkongers’ on draft legislation that ignited protests

Handling of the consultation ‘clearly improper and extremely undesirable’

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The bureau led by security chief John Lee failed to insert a clause that would have allowed Hongkongers’ anonymous thoughts on the extradition bill to be available for public examination, says a critical ombudsman ruling. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00am, 25 Oct 2019Updated: 9:00am, 25 Oct 2019

Hong Kong’s ombudsman has ruled in favour of a complaint against the government’s refusal to disclose public feedback to its ill-fated extradition bill, slamming its “clearly improper” handling of the consultation.

The Security Bureau turned down requests in March to publish nearly 4,500 written submissions, two-thirds of which it said supported the draft legislation, on the grounds that officials did not have the authors’ consent to release them.

The bill, which would have allowed the transfer of criminal suspects to mainland China and other jurisdictions, was officially withdrawn on Wednesday after sparking anti-government protests that have rocked the city for more than four months.

The government has been rebuked for its handling of a consultation on the now-withdrawn extradition bill, which has led to mass protests. Photo: Sam Tsang

Upholding the complaint lodged by Labour Party chairman Steven Kwok Wing-kin, the ombudsman said the government should have made clear that the responses would be made publicly available.