Introducing extradition law in Hong Kong : erupting the latent

• Main Author: Lau, Zhe Wei
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: JA Political science (General)
• Online Access: http://irep.iium.edu.my/77142/1/77142_INTRODUCING%20EXTRADITION%20LAW%20IN%20HONG%20KONG_new.pdf; http://irep.iium.edu.my/77142/

The month of June this year (2019) is a month of protests and strikes in Hong Kong. This is one of the biggest street protests since the return of Hong Kong to China. Even business people who usually pledge their support for the establishment and central government threw in their support in striking this time. This is due to Hong Kong government's decision to introduce an extradition law which allows “other governments” (including Mainland China) to request for their suspects to be charged in their countries. One of the main concerns of the protesters is the possibility of anyone physically in Hong Kong be sent to China for their judicial trial should China request for it. With the long sour relationship between the anti-China (anti-establishment) segment of the society and the mainland Chinese government, this development, although does not come as a surprise, but the scale this time does. This paper will study on: i) what makes this segment of the society feel displeasure towards the mainland Chinese government in general since the return of Hong Kong to mainland China; ii) what are the causes for this political chaos to occur so terribly with this extradition law; iii) to what extend the power of the people can force the government to please their wills. Although there will not be on-the-ground in depth study for this writing, but with the help of modern technology and free flow of information in this era, arm-chair approach will be used instead. The method applied to analyse this writing is mainly qualitative through primary (such as official report and official press conference) and secondary (such as media reporting, reliable video postings and alike) sources.