Hong Kong democracy advocates bring their protest against extradition bill to United States
- If bill passes, Democratic Party founder Martin Lee warns, ‘there’s danger’ in coming to Hong Kong
- Lee and activist Nathan Law have been asked to testify about the bill before the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China
Two of Hong Kong’s most prominent democracy advocates have travelled to the United States to seek Washington’s support for scuttling the territory’s controversial extradition bill.
The legislation would clear the city to conduct the transfer of suspects to destinations it now lacks extradition deals with, including Taiwan and mainland China. The bill has stalled in the Legislative Council since being tabled more than a month ago in the face of resistance from the business sector and human rights groups.
Martin Lee Chu-ming, founder of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong, and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, one of the pro-democracy student leaders of the 2014 Occupy movement, were scheduled to speak next Wednesday before the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China, which monitors Beijing’s actions on human rights and its commitment to the rule of law.
Lee sees the bill passing easily because Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing government holds a majority, but is hoping international pressure, combined with increasing street protests, will force legislative leaders to withdraw the proposal.
“There is precedent for that,” Lee told the South China Morning Post on the sidelines of an event at New York’s Asia Society on Thursday.
