A proposed law that would allow criminal suspects to be extradited from Hong Kong to mainland China is drawing opposition, including from foreign business leaders who warn Beijing could exploit the law for political purposes and shake confidence in the city.
Security officials in the city proposed changes to close what they say is a legal loophole that prevents Hong Kong surrendering fugitives to law-enforcement authorities in the many jurisdictions with which it doesn’t have extradition agreements, including China. The absence of such a legal mechanism was highlighted after a Hong Kong man allegedly murdered his girlfriend in Taiwan, a self-governed island off China, last year and fled back to his home city. Local authorities said they had no legal avenue to send him to Taiwan to face investigators.
