Confusion reigns over new UK extradition laws

The British government’s decision to amend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong has been greeted with shock and confusion among the many activists hiding in the UK to escape prosecution in Hong Kong.

Whitehall announced last week that it was going to scrap Hong Kong off its extradition list and in future handle all extradition applications on a case-by-case basis. The Home Office said it was amending legislation to enable co-operation between the UK and Hong Kong on matters of extradition. The UK signed an extradition treaty with Hong Kong in 1997, but it was suspended in 2020 after mass demonstrations forced the Hong Kong SAR Government to withdraw a bill that would allow extradition between Hong Kong and Taiwan, Macau and the Chinese mainland.

There was an immediate reaction to the Home Office announcement from Hong Kong activists and politicians in the UK, calling the proposal a betrayal. They could see their safe haven eroding away and even abandonment by their saviours. The so-called pro-democracy group, Hong Kong Watch said the plan was a “reckless move which will endanger many pro-democracy activists now living in the UK.”

The UK’s Home Office minister Dan Jarvis reckons some 160,000 Hong Kongers have emigrated to the UK since 2021. However, it is believed that many are having assimilation problems, finding work at levels they are accustomed to and higher taxation.

Jarvis defends the new proposed legislation saying it is merely a necessary legal step to allow the “severing of ties.” He wrote to parliamentarians earlier mentioning that even if there were strong reasons for the extradition of fugitives to Hong Kong, the current regulations would not allow this to be done, and it was necessary to make amendments to allow the UK side to cooperate with these non-treaty partners on a case-by-case basis.

The shadow minister for national security Alicia Kearns, in a letter riddled with untruths and false information to Jarvis, claimed that “many Hongkongers arrested for protest were given false violent convictions as a method of opposing dissent …” and that “protections should be put in place to identify and reject false charges made against the activists”.

Kearns should know better. The charges against the renegade activists are real and of a criminal nature. They are fleeing prosecution and trial by a common law court similar to the UK and recognized as one of the fairest in the world. Kearns is effectively harbouring criminals fleeing justice.

Since the handover in 1997 Hong Kong has signed up extradition treaties with 17 countries of which eight, including Australia, UK, US and New Zealand, suspended the agreement after Hong Kong introduced its new national security laws.

Missing from that round of agreements were Taiwan, Macau and the Chinese mainland.

There was no hurry until early 2018 when 19-year-old Hong Kong resident Chan Tong-kai murdered his pregnant girlfriend in Taiwan, then returned to Hong Kong where he admitted to police that he had killed his girlfriend. But the police were unable to charge him for murder or extradite him to Taiwan because no agreement was in place at the time. Hong Kong Legislators felt the loophole had to be fixed and introduced the Extradition 2019 bill.

Anti-China propogandists seized the opportunity and quickly spread rumours that anyone committing a crime in Hong Kong could be tried in China. Poppycock! Let logic prevail. First, the two places have different legal systems: Hong Kong enjoys the Common Law system practiced in all British commonwealth countries and the US while China practices the civil law system practiced in the rest of the world. [In civil law jurisdictions, courts base their decisions on the interpretation and application of statutes and codes. Judges have a more limited role in shaping the law compared to their counterparts in common law jurisdictions. In common law jurisdictions, judges play a vital role in shaping the law through their interpretation of legal precedents.] The bill was to facilitate the extradition of a person who commits a crime and flees to another country to be returned to the country where the offence took place to stand trial. But the seeds of doubt had been sown, and masses of demonstrators took to the streets demanding that the proposal be dropped. They won.

At the time the bill was introduced, it was estimated there were some 300 fugitives from the mainland living in Hong Kong without fear of being returned to the mainland for trial.

In the UK there can be no doubt that the subject will be widely debated in the Commons and the House of Lords where politicians have already picked sides, thanks to the lobbying efforts by anti-Hong Kong/China groups.

Mark Pinkstone

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Negotiations over US President Trump’s tariffs are now closed and will take effect on August 7. His plan was to raise tariffs so that manufacturing and businesses would return to the US. But they haven’t.

In fact, as far as Hong Kong is concerned, it is coming out as the winner in this so-called trade war.

Without any rhyme or reason, Trump has introduced new tariffs across the board, ranging from 10 per cent for UK, Australia and Chile to 50 per cent for Brazil, 39 per cent for Switzerland and 34 per cent for China (including Hong Kong).

Trump has totally ignored Hong Kong’s independent membership to the World Trade Organisation and lumped the city with China proper, which had a US$992 billion surplus with the US while Hong Kong is being penalised for having a US$22 billion deficit.

As more evidence is surfacing of a negative reaction in the US to Trump’s tariffs, Hong Kong is showing the opposite.

The Institute for Supply Management in the US said manufacturing employment index dropped to 43.4, its lowest level since July 2020. This marks a significant slowdown in hiring as companies face rising raw material costs, partly driven by tariffs imposed by Trump.

The US Commerce Department data released on last week showed prices for home furnishings and durable household equipment jumped 1.3 per cent in June, the biggest gain since March 2022.

But in Hong Kong direct imports of fruit from the US to Hong Kong soared 118 per cent in value in April as suppliers diverted their stock from the mainland where they faced higher taxes. A 5 kg carton of US cherries that fetched a wholesale price of HK$400 last July is now being sold for between $260 and $280, a drop of up to 35 per cent.

The release last week of the “Hong Kong Business Environment Report: One Country, Two Systems Unique Advantages” has undoubtedly brought a strong shot to Hong Kong society, domestic and foreign investors.

The report provides all sectors of the community and Mainland and overseas investors with details on Hong Kong's latest developments and strengths, comprehensively showcasing Hong Kong's open, safe, stable, efficient and internationalized business environment.

The report highlights that the Government has achieved remarkable results in attracting enterprises, investment and talent. Last year, the number of companies in Hong Kong with parent companies located outside the territory significantly increased by about 10 per cent, reaching nearly 10,000, while the number of start-ups reached nearly 4,700, both reaching record highs. The Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises in Hong Kong has attracted 84 strategic enterprises to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong, including enterprises with a market capitalization or valuation exceeding $10 billion and engaged in cutting-edge technologies. From January 2023 to the first six months of 2025, Invest Hong Kong assisted more than 1 300 overseas and mainland companies to set up or expand their business in Hong Kong, bringing in investment of more than $160 billion.

In terms of talent, as of June 2025, about 500 000 applications under various talent admission schemes were received, nearly 330 000 of which were approved, and nearly 220 000 talents have arrived in Hong Kong.

Foreign businesses still maintain high confidence in Hong Kong. A report by the American Chamber of Commerce indicated that 75 per cent of enterprises it interviewed, identified with Hong Kong as Asia’s most competitive international business and 79 per cent indicated they had no intention of moving their headquarters out of Hong Kong.

As a spin-off of the business report, the government has produced a 100-page booklet for potential investors. It positions Hong Kong as a super connector between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world and highlights Hong Kong’s robust legal and financial systems.

It explains everything anyone would want to know about moving to Hong Kong and the opportunities it offers. Investing in Hong Kong is akin to walking into a store and everything there is before you.