Hong Kong’s leader has warned that no country should harbour criminals, the day after Singapore cited “national interests” as the reason for denying entry to wanted activist Nathan Law Kwun-chung.
But Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu on Tuesday sidestepped a question on whether his administration had asked the city state to help transfer Law, as an extradition agreement was in place between Hong Kong and Singapore.
Law, who now lives in the UK, is wanted by Hong Kong police for allegedly violating the Beijing-imposed national security law after he left the city in 2020.
He was among eight opposition figures on whom police imposed HK$1 million (US$128,000) bounties in July 2023.
The activist was also declared a fugitive under the city’s domestic national security law, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, enacted in March 2024.
“No country should harbour criminals. Violating national security is a serious crime,” Lee said ahead of a weekly meeting of the city’s top decision-making Executive Council.
“The Hong Kong government will strictly enforce the law, pursue all violations, and use every possible means to hunt down criminals for life, especially fugitives.”
Lee did not say whether he had asked Singapore to help transfer Law.
Under the existing extradition agreement between Hong Kong and the city state, both jurisdictions should surrender to each other any person accused or convicted of offences carrying at least a one-year prison term.
But according to the law, a fugitive transfer request can be denied if the offence is deemed “political”, or if the person is prosecuted or convicted because of their race, religion, nationality or political opinions, or if the person could face unfair treatment after being surrendered.
Law was refused entry when he arrived at Singapore’s Changi Airport from San Francisco on Saturday and returned to the US city the next day.
He was previously chairman of the disbanded local party Demosisto, which had advocated self-determination for Hong Kong. He served as a directly elected lawmaker from 2016 to 2017, before being disqualified for improper oath-taking.
Lau Siu-kai, a consultant for the semi-official Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macau Studies think tank, said on Monday that Singapore might have wanted to avoid being drawn into a political predicament.
“Singapore will violate the extradition agreement with Hong Kong if it refuses to surrender Law. If it does so, it will receive criticism from the US and the West, given Singapore has a close and important relationship with the US,” he said.
Lee on Tuesday also commented on new US Consul General Julie Eadeh’s recent meeting with opposition figures at her inaugural reception in Hong Kong.
The city leader said consuls in Hong Kong should perform their duties in the city in a manner befitting their diplomatic status, and refrain from interfering in China’s internal affairs and Hong Kong affairs in any form.
“They should respect China’s sovereignty and the rule of law in Hong Kong,” he said. “I hope all consuls in Hong Kong will engage in constructive activities, not destructive activities.”
Eadeh, who assumed her duties as the US consul general in Hong Kong last month, was reported to have invited former opposition camp leaders, including Anson Chan Fang On-sang and Emily Lau Wai-hing, to her inaugural reception.
Their attendance prompted the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office (HKMAO), the central government’s top office overseeing the city’s affairs, to repost news reports and commentaries by pro-Beijing newspapers targeting Eadeh, Chan and Lau three times last week.
The commentary the office reposted on Saturday accused Eadeh of returning “back to the old game” of disrupting the city and described Chan as an “anti-China and anti-Hong Kong ringleader”, while questioning whether there was a “hidden agenda” behind the meeting.
The piece said that Eadeh should show her sincerity through concrete actions, or she would “inevitably” face severe countermeasures.
The article also recapped the controversy surrounding Eadeh during the 2019 anti-government protests in the city.
Eadeh, who was the head of the US consulate’s political section at the time, was seen meeting opposition figures, including Joshua Wong Chi-fung and Nathan Law. - SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
