With Britain the latest to scrap its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, the key issue is the possibility that suspects returned to the territory may be handed over to Chinese law enforcement and disappear into the mainland’s often abusive legal system.
FILE - In this June 16, 2019, file photo, protesters march on the streets against an extradition bill in Hong Kong. With Britain the latest country to scrap an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, the focus has returned to concerns over Chinese justice that sparked months of anti-government protests in the semi-autonomous city last year.
The key issue is the possibility that suspects returned to Hong Kong could be handed over to Chinese law enforcement and disappear into the mainland’s opaque and frequently abusive legal system.China insists the new security law is needed to combat terrorism and separatism and prevent Hong Kong from becoming a base for subverting Chinese state power.
Hong Kong authorities could not charge Chan with murder and could only prosecute him on lesser charges related to the crime. They also could not send Chan to Taiwan for trial because of the lack of an extradition treaty. The booksellers vanished before resurfacing in police custody in mainland China. Among them, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai was abducted from his holiday home in Thailand and later appeared twice in videotaped confessions, the second time after being taken off a train by police in eastern China in January 2018 while in the company of two Swedish diplomats.
China has pledged to retaliate for Britain’s decision to cancel its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, as well as to ban the sale of military-grade equipment to the territory. Beijing called it gross interference in Hong Kong’s, and therefore China’s, internal affairs, and an attempt to undermine implementation of the new security law.
Australia abandoned plans to do so in 2017 after it became clear that its Parliament was opposed, adding to a deterioration of ties with Beijing that have now sunk to a historical low.
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