Ronny Tong

Opinion | An extradition agreement with mainland China would serve the rule of law, not Beijing’s political interests

Hong Kong has clear-cut agreements on extradition with many countries. To say that one with Beijing would make Hong Kong subservient is an insult to our esteemed courts and judges

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Why you can trust SCMP

Ronny Tong

Published: 8:02am, 28 Feb 2019Updated: 12:21am, 17 Mar 2019

In a recent novel co-authored by none other than former US president Bill Clinton, the main character – also a US president – despairs, saying: “[Modern politics] breeds more frustration, polarisation, paralysis, bad decisions, and missed opportunities … with no incentive to actually accomplish something; more politicians just go with the flow, fanning the flames of anger and resentment, when they should be acting as the fire brigade.” This observation is sad yet true; Hong Kong is the epitome of this madness.

Just look at the recent debate on the government’s proposal to amend the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance. With this amendment, the government proposes to give the chief executive power to order that certain criminal suspects be transferred to other jurisdictions, subject to confirmation of the courts on a case-by-case basis. From a rule-of-law point of view, you would think no one, let alone lawyers, would object to this amendment.

Sadly, some prominent senior lawyers and legislators reportedly said the government was using the proposed amendment to send people back to the mainland for political offences and our judges would easily succumb to Beijing’s political demands. One would hope such accusations would be based on simple legal ignorance rather than deliberate political posturing.

First and foremost, extradition arrangements the world over are needed not for the convenience of the requesting country but because the rule of law dictates that no one is above the law and there should not be havens for criminals in any modern society. The law therefore provides that, in the interest of justice, there are certain circumstances when those who have committed a serious crime in one country and escaped to another may be sent back to where the crime occurred. This is a matter of core values and has nothing to do with politics.

The law of Hong Kong is no exception in this respect. The ordinance makes it plain from the outset under section 2 that it can only apply to the specified 46 offences listed, none of which have anything to do with political, public order or public security offences. Not only that, the ordinance can only apply to acts which, if committed in Hong Kong, would carry punishment of more than 12 months’ imprisonment.