Thousands march in Hong Kong over proposed extradition law changes

Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday against a government plan to change extradition laws, fearing an erosion of personal freedom and the city's status as an international business hub.

The Hong Kong government proposal, announced in February, would grant the city's leader executive power to send fugitives to jurisdictions not covered by existing arrangements, including Mainland China and Taiwan.

Protest organizers said 12,000 people took the streets on Sunday, while police estimated the crowd at 5,200 at its peak.

"Hong Kong people all have to bear the negative consequence of this ordinance. This carries the risk of personal freedom being restricted," Lam Wing-kee, a bookseller who said in 2016 he was detained by Chinese agents, told the crowd.

The government said last week it will present the amendments to legislators on Wednesday.

Some worry about judicial independence

The planned changes have been strongly opposed by some legislators, legal and rights groups who fear that it could be exploited by Beijing's Communist Party leaders and hurt Hong Kong's judicial independence.

"We are gravely concerned that anyone extradited to China will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and other grave human rights violations," Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor wrote in an open letter to Carrie Lam, the city's leader, on Sunday.

Changes to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance would expand the scope for the transfer of criminal suspects to China and remove the legislature's right to scrutinize individual extradition decisions filed by Hong Kong's chief executive.

Chance of fabricated charges

"These amendments would heighten the risk for human rights activists and others critical of China being extradited to the mainland for trial on fabricated charges,"Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Sunday.

"The amendments would tarnish Hong Kong's reputation for the rule of law, and should be scrapped," Richardson said, adding that the legal changes would put Hong Kong people "at risk of torture and unfair trials."

Separately, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong issued a letter saying its members "continue to have serious concerns" about the proposed changes, saying they would "reduce the appeal of Hong Kong to international companies considering Hong Kong as a base for regional operations."

"Hong Kong's international reputation for the rule of law is its priceless treasure,"the letter said.

Since Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee that it would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not allowed in mainland China, there has been no formal mechanism for the surrender of fugitives to mainland China.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Security, John Lee, told reporters last week the government had no plans to scrap the bill.

'Cautious' decision

"It is not an easy decision, but it is a cautious, careful, and serious decision," he said, adding that the Hong Kong government "has the sole right to decide whether or not to process (extradition requests)."

Hong Kong's business community has expressed concern over the inclusion of economic and financial crimes in the bill. The government later removed nine types of crime relevant to bankruptcies, financial trading and intellectual property.

But there is still a risk of rendition to jurisdictions that do not share Hong Kong's level of "protections for the legitimate rights of defendants," the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said.

"We strongly believe that the proposed arrangements will reduce the appeal of Hong Kong to international companies considering Hong Kong as a base for regional operations," the chamber said in a statement on Friday.