Will New Extradition Rules in Hong Kong Pave the Way for Abuses by China?

Will New Extradition Rules in Hong Kong Pave the Way for Abuses by China?
Pro-democracy lawmaker Gary Fan displays a sign reading “Withdraw bad law” to protest the extradition law during a Legislative Council session, Hong Kong, April 3, 2019 (AP photo by Vincent Yu).

Editor’s Note: Every Wednesday, WPR Newsletter and Engagement Editor Benjamin Wilhelm curates the week’s top news and expert analysis on China.

Hong Kong’s government introduced revised extradition legislation last Wednesday, going ahead with plans to ease the handover of fugitives to jurisdictions that it does not have extradition treaties with, including China, Taiwan and Macau. Human rights groups and lawyers’ associations in Hong Kong have protested the move, saying that Beijing could use extradition as a weapon against political dissidents or anyone else its justice system deems criminal.

Mainland China was deliberately excluded from Hong Kong’s 1997 extradition law, passed shortly before the former British colony was handed over to China. That decision was made due to a “fundamentally different criminal justice system operating in the mainland and concerns over the mainland’s record on the protection of fundamental rights,” according to the Hong Kong Bar Association. Since the handover, China has exercised sovereignty over Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” arrangement, which is meant to ensure the territory’s autonomy from Beijing until 2047.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review