Opinion | How Hong Kong’s extradition bill falls short of the deal we need with mainland China

Talks began more than 20 years ago between Hong Kong and Beijing on a rendition agreement. Why did nothing come of it, and why is the government opting for a case-by-case approach that fails to address Hongkongers’ demand for fair trial safeguards?

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Published: 9:15am, 6 Apr 2019Updated: 9:31am, 6 Apr 2019

Two years before Hong Kong’s return to China, a notorious gangster stood trial for the world’s biggest cash robbery. Cheung Tze-keung must have appreciated the fair trial he received under the city’s system of justice, which has mostly remained the same since the 1997 handover. The judge dismissed the case, a HK$167 million robbery. He said: “The evidence, in my view, is of such a low quality I cannot allow it to go to the jury for their deliberation.”

Cheung, known as “Big Spender”, was released. But he was to meet a very different fate in December 1998, after being arrested and tried in mainland China. He was convicted of kidnapping and gun-running, sentenced to death and executed.

The case, involving a Hong Kong resident tried in mainland China for offences committed in the city, highlighted the stark difference between the two legal systems on either side of the border. It also raised questions which have resurfaced in recent weeks as the government seeks to make controversial changes to Hong Kong’s extradition laws.

The proposal is for case-by-case transfers of suspects from the city to mainland China and other parts of the world which have no agreement with Hong Kong.

This change to law, currently before the Legislative Council, has sparked concern not only from the city’s pro-democracy camp, but also the legal profession, business community, and media groups. The worry is that it will open the door to Hong Kong residents being transferred to the mainland for trial under a legal system which lacks the city’s rule of law, independent judiciary and fair trial safeguards.

Hong Kong does not have a rendition agreement with the mainland. The Cheung case prompted calls for one to be put in place. Negotiations between Hong Kong and the central government began in 1998. The aim was to complete them by 2000.

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