A large-scale demonstration on June 9 marked the beginning of a growing social movement in Hong Kong. One million people, one seventh of Hong Kong population, took to the street to express their opposition to an Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB). Although the Chief Executive Carrie Lam has proposed to withdraw the bill on September 4, protests have continued to this day, against Chinese central power, amidst growing violence.
In February 2018, a Hong Kong couple Poon and Chan went to Taiwan. Chan murdered Poon in Taiwan and went back to Hong Kong afterwards. In December 2018, Taiwan Ministry of Justice asked Hong Kong government to extradite Chan to Taiwan for trial. However, in the absence of mutual legal assistance between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Hong Kong couldn’t extradite Chan to Taiwan. Therefore, in February 2019, the Security Bureau in Hong Kong proposed an Extradition Law Amendment Bill (ELAB) to close the loophole.
ELAB would allow Hong Kong government to extradite criminal fugitives who are wanted in countries that do not have extradition agreements with Hong Kong, such as Taiwan but also China and Japan. The decision to extradite criminal fugitives presently comes from the Legislative Council (LEGCO) in Hong Kong. However, if ELAB is enacted, the decision to extradite criminal fugitives will be made by Chief Executive and the court. In other words, anyone who is in Hong Kong, whether they are a citizen and resident of Hong Kong or a foreign visitor, they can be extradited to the country where they are wanted.
Why such a strong opposition to ELAB?
The concern about ELAB is mainly because of the judicial system in China. Whether extradited criminals can receive fair trial in China remains a question, since the Chinese legal system lacks transparency and democratic supervision. Another issue is that the Chinese government can accuse anyone of any offense. For example, the owner and staff of Causeway Bay Books in Hong Kong went missing in 2015. Some of them disappeared in China while others disappeared in Hong Kong and later appeared to be in China when Chinese authorities confirmed that they were holding five men in China, who were related to Causeway Bay Books. The five men were also interviewed in China by different Chinese media including the state television broadcaster CCTV. The owner of Causeway Bay Books, who went missing in China, was accused of illegally sending banned books, available in Hong Kong, to mainland. With the Causeway Bay Books incident, Hong Kongers worried that their rights and freedom would be damaged if ELAB were enacted.
On June 9th, Hong Kongers occupied the main roads in Causeway Bay and marched peacefully. (Source: BBC)
Hong Kongers made their voices heard
On June 9, 1 million Hong Kongers took to the street and marched peacefully to voice their objection to ELAB. However, at 11pm on the same day, the government responded that although they were aware of protesters’ concerns, LEGCO would continue the legislative work on June 12. This provoked a strike and peaceful rally in front of government headquarters on June 12. Regarding the rally as an illegal assembly, police dispersed protesters by using pepper spray, firing tear gas and beating up unarmed protesters with batons and shields. This police brutality caused heated debate and the relationship between protesters and the police deteriorated. Protesters listed five demands: withdraw ELAB from the legislative process, retract the characterisation of 12 June protest as riots, release and exonerate all arrested protesters, establish an independent committee to investigate police’s use of force during the protests and implement universal suffrage. Since the government did not respond to their demands, certain protesters started escalating violence while others supported peaceful demonstrations. Although Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed to withdraw the bill on September 4th, protesters are reluctant to put an end to the movement because the government has not responded to their other demands. When and how the movement will end remains a question.
Seyeon Park