Hong Kong protests: ‘no regrets’ over extradition bill bid, Carrie Lam insists, saying apology in 2019 was for poor communication on legislation
- City leader doubles down on decision to push contentious, now-shelved legislation that sparked months of social unrest in city
- She admits officials at the time did not explain the bill properly to residents
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, who will step down from her post in three weeks, maintained on a Saturday radio programme that the controversial law was needed to prevent the city from becoming a haven for fugitives.
“I’ve never expressed any regret over pushing for the extradition bill … nor have I ever thought the government had done anything wrong in this regard,” she said. “On the contrary, the government had the courage to handle a problem which had been left untouched for a long time.”
Lam said she still held firm belief on the need to enact the legislation to prevent criminals from hiding in the city, adding “this is our international obligation”.
The bill was proposed in February 2019, which would have allowed for the transfer of fugitives to jurisdictions with which the city has no such agreement, including mainland China.
At the time, the government said the bill was aimed at plugging loopholes exposed by a homicide case the previous year. Murder suspect Chan Tong-kai, a Hongkonger, was believed to have killed his pregnant girlfriend while the couple were holidaying in Taiwan, with the former later returning to the city. Chan could not be extradited to the self-ruled island for investigations because of a lack of such an arrangement between both governments.
