The government of Hong Kong has proposed an amendment of its existing Fugitive Offenders Ordinance, which will allow the Chief Executive to surrender people residing in Hong Kong to any jurisdiction without prior mutual agreement. We believe the passing of this amendment will not only jeopardize the high degree of autonomy in Hong Kong, but also poses security and financial risk for Dutch nationals and businesses located in Hong Kong.

The controversial bill concerns Hong Kong’s Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance, two laws which enable foreign jurisdictions with prior agreement to request the surrendering of persons connected with criminal matters, or to search and seize evidence such as through freezing and confiscation of assets of such persons. Currently, these ordinances explicitly exclude the jurisdictions of other parts of China as defined by the People’s Republic of China (PRC), namely Macao, Taiwan and the Mainland.

The proposed amendment will remove this geographical restriction, and allow the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Government to permit “ad hoc” agreement with any jurisdiction, including mainland China. This causes great concern as pointed out by the Hong Kong Bar Association, since it is very likely that the Chief Executive, who ultimately reports to the central authorities of the PRC, will not be refusing any surrendering request from the PRC jurisdictions. In turn, any legal entity including international residence and firms will be subjected to the risk prosecution or detainment of asset if they were deemed criminal suspect by any Chinese authority.

The judicial system in mainland China is deeply rooted in the presumption of guilt, leading to a high conviction rate that is well above 98%. Not only do we foresee a degradation of freedom in Hong Kong, passing this amendment will seriously undermine Hong Kong’s role as an international trading centre, which relies on its financial freedom and protection by the local law.

We strongly urge the Dutch government to:

1. Openly voice opposition to the proposed amendment of the Fugitive Offender Ordinance (Cap. 503) in Hong Kong which is to be entered into second reading tomorrow on June 12, 2019
2. Condemn the use of excessive violence towards protesters outside the Central Government Complex of HKSAR
3. Express grave concern over the impact of passing of said amendment to Dutch nationals and companies in Hong Kong
4. Re-evaluate the current extradition arrangement with Hong Kong, and be explicit about the consequence to the arrangements if said amendment would pass.