A Hong Kong government proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China is stoking fresh anxiety over the resilience of local autonomy in the financially important former British colony.
A Hong Kong government proposal to allow extraditions to mainland China is stoking fresh anxiety about the resilience of local autonomy in the financially important former British colony.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, mandated by Congress, issued a brief Tuesday slamming the plan. If it's passed, the commission said, the rule would"increase the territory's susceptibility to Beijing's political coercion and further erode Hong Kong's autonomy." On Saturday, nearly 300 people, many shouting slogans, watched lawmakers engage in heated debate on live video outside the council building.
"The rule of law and judicial independence are the core values of the ," the local government said in a statement Wednesday responding to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission brief. The government"attaches utmost importance to these values and is determined to fully safeguard them and the safety of all members of the public."
It highlighted not only the lack of an extradition mechanism with the self-governed island, but also with other places including China and nearby Macau, which is a semi-autonomous Chinese region like Hong Kong. "They could weaponize this system the same way they've weaponized their own system against their own citizens," he said.
In an unprecedented move in October, it expelled a British journalist who hosted a local independence advocate for a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club that angered Beijing.
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