The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong has issued a warning over a proposed extradition agreement involving the city, mainland China, Taiwan and Macau.
According to the South China Morning Post, AmCham informed Hong Kong’s Security Bureau in a letter recently that the city’s international business community had “grave concerns” about the mainland’s legal system. It also warned the government that this agreement would damage the city’s reputation as a “secure haven for international business.”
The letter added: “The mainland criminal process has deep flaws, including lack of an independent judiciary, arbitrary detention, lack of fair public trial, lack of access to legal representation and poor prison conditions. The mainland legal system is often abused to criminalize what are essentially commercial disputes between foreign and local business interests.”
The letter also called on Hong Kong’s leadership to reconsider the proposal and look at different ways to hand over fugitives. “Any change in extradition arrangements that substantially expands the possibility of arrest and rendition … of international business executives residing in or transiting through Hong Kong as a result of allegations of economic crime made by the mainland government … would undermine perceptions of Hong Kong as a safe and secure haven for international business operations,” AmCham said.
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