Eric Stryson

Opinion | Hong Kong’s fear over the extradition law is neither unique nor new. Remember the Treaty of Wanghia

Hongkongers’ fight against a proposed law that would open the door to politically motivated exploitation should be understood in the wider context of history

The first China-US diplomatic treaty signed 175 years ago offers lessons on extraterritorial law enforcement and the Chinese imperative for sovereignty

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The US flag flies at the Port of Los Angeles on June 18. The US-China tussle over trade is nothing new. The 1844 Treaty of Wanghia was fundamentally about trade. Its primary accomplishment was to end China’s tariff autonomy, by fixing ad valorem import and export duties at 5 per cent, levelling the playing field in favour of American and British merchants. Photo: AFP

Eric Stryson

Published: 2:30pm, 9 Jul 2019Updated: 8:44pm, 9 Jul 2019

Last week, amid the commemorations for the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on July 1, most of us in Hong Kong missed another significant but largely forgotten anniversary. Although 22 years seems now to be the limit to our historical remembrance, it was 175 years ago when China and America signed their first diplomatic treaty. History offers lessons for our turbulent times.

The Treaty of Wanghia, signed on July 3, 1844 at the Kun Iam temple in Macau, granted Americans the principle of extraterritoriality, which meant impunity from local Chinese laws. For crimes committed in the five special treaty ports, Americans would be tried not by Chinese law, but by an American consul.

Ironically, or not, the consul in Guangzhou at the time was also senior partner at the largest American opium-smuggling firm. Thus, law enforcement was lax and trade in illegal goods continued unabated. This special status lasted 100 years until 1943.

It was relinquished only when America’s leadership determined that an alliance with the new Republic of China was more important than preferential treatment, which was anyway criticised as an imperialist and even a racist double standard.

Hong Kong today is being shaken by debate over a bill that would allow criminals to be extradited and tried in mainland China, Americans included. It has brought millions onto the streets, elicited threats from US and UK politicians and brought 2047 into sharper relief. Opposition to the proposed revision of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance is based on the view that China’s legal system is not transparent, not to be trusted, and that such a law would open the door to exploitation for politically motivated actors.

One imagines the sort of exploitation levied on China itself in the heyday of “foreign devils” with gunboats. Business leaders, especially those with concerns about their practices in China, are particularly anxious. While concern is justified, perspective is also necessary. Just last month, American prosecutors charging Meng Wanzhou of Huawei with bank fraud and sanctions violations refused to share evidence with her defence or the public.