Source:
https://scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3013998/carrie-lam-started-hong-kong-extradition-debate-murdered-woman Letters
Carrie Lam started Hong Kong extradition debate with woman murdered in Taiwan: where is that goal now?
- The Hong Kong government initially said the changes to the extradition law would allow justice to be served in the case of a woman murdered in Taiwan
- But now, in the face of mounting public protests, it is just stressing the need to plug a legal “loophole”
A protester holds up a poster of Chief Executive Carrie Lam, as massive crowds march from Causeway Bay to the government headquarters in Admiralty on June 9, to protest against changes to Hong Kong’s extradition laws. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
It is shameful that the government of Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor used the very real grief of the family of Poon Hiu-wing, the young woman murdered in Taiwan last year, to push its own political agenda. Poon’s family deserves to see justice done and have the suspect, Chan Tong-Kai, extradited to face charges of murdering their daughter in Taiwan. Instead, what they have got is this debacle that Lam has conjured up to curry favour with Beijing.
It is deplorable that Lam stressed justice for the family but now can’t deliver because of her intransigent stance on this bill. As Taiwan has made clear, it will not accept Chan even if this bill is passed, so why is Lam still pursuing it when justice can’t be served?
Lam has conveniently moved the goalposts. The crime has now been sidelined and is no longer the pressing issue that it was. As a parent, I am horrified that the death of a beloved family member has been brushed aside in such a callous, calculating, abhorrent manner. The family deserves much better than this, as do the people of Hong Kong.
The new goalposts have turned into protestations that this bill is necessary to plug legal loopholes in extradition deals with other jurisdictions as well, not only mainland China. Can Lam inform the public whether these other jurisdictions that are being included have a rule of law record that is as abysmal as that of mainland China’s?
If Lam wants to to plug loopholes, she should do so without including China. Over a million Hongkongers do not want this bill and came out in force to demonstrate this. Lam should have the humility to acknowledge that this mess is totally of her own making – she should clean it up without involving the livelihoods of Hongkongers. Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa took his failure to pass a law on the chin and so should she.
Our chief executive is being paid top dollar to do a job that she is clearly reneging on. The youth of Hong Kong will bear the brunt of her obstinacy if she continues on this path, not her and her near-retirement cronies. Lam should work on affordable housing, the environment and poverty, to improve the lives of the youth. Stop trying to bring 2047 into their lives earlier than needs be.
Suman Lall, Mid-Levels