scholarly journals What model for extradition between Hong Kong and mainland China? A comparison between the 2019 (withdrawn) amendment to Hong Kong extradition law and the European Arrest Warrant

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 504-523
Author(s):  
Yanhong Yin ◽  
Irene Wieczorek

This article provides an analysis of the bill proposed in 2019 to amend Hong Kong Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (FOO), Hong Kong domestic legislation on extradition. The FOO Amendment Bill introduced the possibility of, and detailed the conditions for, surrendering fugitives from Hong Kong to other regions of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), among which, controversially, mainland China. After multiple protests, the proposal was withdrawn. It nonetheless represents the first attempt of introducing a legal basis for extradition between Hong Kong and mainland China, and it is thus deserving of close scrutiny. The article describes the unique constitutional setting in which this amendment was proposed, Hong Kong and mainland China being two regions of the same sovereign country which have two radically different legal systems under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ principle. It compares the proposed system for extradition between these two regions with the rules regulating extradition between Hong Kong and third states, and with international systems for surrender, including the European Arrest Warrant and the UN Model Extradition Treaty. It shows that the FOO Amendment Bill would have put in place a surrender system in some respects less advanced and subject to more obstacles than standard international extradition Treaties and than the system regulating extradition between Hong Kong and third countries. This is the case, for instance, for the rules on penalty thresholds and on double criminality. Conversely, in other respects, it would have been even more advanced (and with fewer obstacles) than the European Arrest Warrant, one of the most advanced systems of international surrender. This is notably the case for the rules regulating extradition of Hong Kong residents to other parts of the PRC. These latter were, however, among the more controversial aspects of the proposal. The article also discusses the challenges that reintroducing a similar proposal would face in the future, including in light of current political and legal developments – notably the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress’s July 2020 adoption of the ‘Hong Kong National Security Law’. It suggests that one avenue to smoothen surrender proceedings between Hong Kong and mainland China would be taking a procedural rather than a substantive approach, namely by increasing the role of courts and decreasing the role of executive bodies in the extradition procedures.

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tan Lee Cheng

AbstractReview of “Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments” by Professor Jie Huang (Oxford and Portland, Oregon: Hart Publishing, 2014) which analyses the status quo of judgment recognition and enforcement in the Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ regime. The book also presents a comparative study of the interregional recognition and enforcement of judgments in the US and EU.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 381-385
Author(s):  
Tan Lee Cheng

AbstractReview of “Interregional Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments” by Professor Jie Huang (Oxford and Portland, Oregon: Hart Publishing, 2014) which analyses the status quo of judgment recognition and enforcement in the Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong under the ‘One Country, Two Systems’ regime. The book also presents a comparative study of the interregional recognition and enforcement of judgments in the US and EU.


Author(s):  
Joseph Cheng

Deng Xiaoping (b. 1903–d. 1997) secured power and launched a policy program of economic reforms and an opening to the external world at the end of 1978. He also initiated a peace offensive toward Taiwan, and had to face a new challenge in China’s Hong Kong policy. In January 1979, the Chinese authorities announced a nine-point proposal for solving the Taiwan issue and guaranteed that after reunification, the existing economic and social systems, as well as the way of life, would remain unchanged. Subsequently, the new Constitution of the People’s Republic of China promulgated in December 1982 contains a new provision; Article 31 states, “The state may establish special administrative regions (SAR) when necessary” (available online). In March 1979, Sir Murray MacLehose (b. 1917–d. 2000), then Governor of Hong Kong, visited Beijing. He met Deng Xiaoping and formally raised “the New Territories lease” question. Chinese leaders gradually began to understand that the Hong Kong future issue could no longer be delayed. The view of recovery gained a distinct edge; Liao Chengzhi (b. 1908–d. 1983), head of the newly established Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, was given the responsibility of planning for the recovery of the territory. In April 1981, he proposed the “one country, two systems” model policy, which demonstrated the Chinese leadership’s liberation in thinking at that time. The leadership was eager to show the world that China could govern Hong Kong better than the British colonial administration; it wanted the Hong Kong model to have a significant demonstration effect on Taiwan. The policy played a key role in maintaining the confidence of Hong Kong people, and facilitated Chinese leaders’ success in the Sino-British negotiations on the territory’s future. In the decade and a half since Hong Kong’s return to China, the “one country, two systems” model has been working quite well. Stability and prosperity have been maintained; the rule of law and the freedoms enjoyed by the people have been largely intact. Hong Kong’s relative international economic competitiveness has been in slow decline, and the economy has become increasingly dependent on that of Mainland China.


2022 ◽  
pp. 1-31
Author(s):  
Stuart Hargreaves

Abstract Typically one member of a sitting panel of Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal is a senior jurist drawn from another common law jurisdiction. In the Court's early years, these ‘overseas judges’ were responsible for writing approximately one quarter of the lead opinions across a vast range of cases. This article demonstrates, however, that this practice has changed. The overseas judges now write a smaller share of lead opinions and no longer write lead opinions related to issues of fundamental human rights or the relationship between Hong Kong and the rest of China. This article suggests this change has been made for good reason. Though valid questions about the legitimacy of the role of the overseas judges can be made, they also continue to perform a valuable communicative role regarding the status of Hong Kong's judicial independence under the ‘one country, two systems’ framework. A recent rise in attacks on overseas and other ‘foreign’ judges in Hong Kong can be understood as part of a broader project that seeks to constrain the role of the independent judiciary. By continuing to invite overseas judges to sit on the Court of Final Appeal but reducing their public prominence, the Court has sought not only to reduce avenues for attacks on the legitimacy of particular decisions, but to protect the autonomy and independence of the judiciary more broadly.


Author(s):  
Helena Y.W. Wu

As a former British colony (1842-1997) and now a Special Administrative Region (from 1997 onwards) practicing the “One Country Two Systems” policy with the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong has witnessed at all times how relations are formed, dissolved and refashioned amidst changing powers, identities and narratives. With an eye to real-life events and cultural representations, the book presents an interdisciplinary study of “local relations” through the lens of the things and places that stand or that have once stood for Hong Kong’s “local”. The book argues that the signification of the local and the constellation of local relations embody the continuous acts of deterritorialization and reterritorialization beyond the political arena and through the cultural and social relations formed between cultural icons and urban dwellers. In its post-handover, post-hangover years where Hong Kong’s local multiples by appearance and connotation as in the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the 2019 Anti-Extradition Bill Protests, the book proposes lessons to learn from the city in face of the discourses of nationalism, globalization and localism. As more are to unfold, the book opens up manifold postcolonial perspectives by the agency of both human and nonhuman to confront and interrogate the contemporary experiences—unprecedented since the Cold War era—shared by Hong Kong and the world where established beliefs and systems are continuously challenged in the postmillennial era. After all, what does it mean, or take, to live in post-1997 Hong Kong when the local, global and national are constantly given new meanings?


2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 589-600 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carole J. Petersen ◽  
Jan Currie

A former British colony, Hong Kong was reunited with the People's Republic of China in 1997 under the ‘one country two systems’ model. The Hong Kong Basic Law contains detailed provisions for academic freedom, ensuring that local academics enjoy far greater freedom than their counterparts in mainland China. Hong Kong academics and the broader community have also publicly supported academic freedom when they perceived it to be under threat. The authors argue, however, that the recent restructuring of Hong Kong's universities may ultimately pose a greater threat than any explicit interference from the local or national governments.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-58
Author(s):  
Hin Wah Chris Cheung ◽  
Man Yum Larry So ◽  
Chi U. Francis Choi ◽  
Chin Fung Philip Chow

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of Special Administrative Region (SAR) performance on the “trust” of Hong Kong and Macau people, who “live” under similar context of “one country, two systems,” toward Beijing Central Government. The different perceptions, relating to the abovementioned issue, of the young peoples’ are also investigated. Implication for civic education in these two societies will be brought to light. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts secondary data analysis on the captioned topic. To further illustrate the said issue, this study reviews and analyzes data from protest campaigns in both societies. Findings This paper finds that the performance of Hong Kong and Macau SAR Governments has different impacts on the peoples’ “trust” toward Central Government. It may attribute to the different perceptions about the role of Central Government and levels of democratization in these societies. Civic education emphasizing the “core spirit” of “One country, two systems,” roles of SAR and Central Governments could enable young people better comprehend their relationship with Mainland China and their role as SAR–Chinese citizens. Originality/value This paper is an exploratory study for providing implications for further research on this topic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan Selig ◽  
Bridget Gagne ◽  
Nick MacDonald

Since 1997 Hong Kong has operated as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People’s Republic of China under a policy known as “One Country, Two Systems.” An analysis of the critical period of 1997-2020 (which came to a close with the 2020 National Security Law) demonstrates the ways in which the People’s Republic of China has used its influence to limit the democratic autonomy and ideological independence of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. By breaking down China’s actions into three distinct sections of politics, media, and education this review addresses the many layers and facets of Chinese encroachment on the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong. In the political sector, China has worked to limit democratic representation in Hong Kong via interference in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of Hong Kong’s government. In the field of media, China has used direct and indirect editorial action as well as economic influence to limit negative perceptions of Beijing. In the education system, China has taken a top-down approach to instill Chinese patriotism in Hong Kong’s curriculum to expand the support for China in Hong Kong’s youth. Tracking these violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy and also the people’s response demonstrates that although China continues to push the “One Country” aspect of the “One Country, Two Systems” policy, the people of Hong Kong will continue to fight for their freedoms as long as they have a voice.


Terminology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-273
Author(s):  
Clara Ho-yan Chan

The paramount importance of ‘equivalence’ of terms in legal translation raises challenging issues for Chinese, in that legal terminology in mainland China differs from that of Hong Kong due to the separate legal systems maintained under “One country, two systems”. With the more frequent interaction between the two regions since the handover in 1997, Chinese legal terminology has been undergoing transformation as China also aims to globalize its legal system by introducing legal concepts from other countries and adapting them to work within the confines of local culture (Potter 2001: 4–15). There is, therefore, a great need for systematic study of the Chinese legal terms of the two regions to clarify confusion between similar terms and cast light on the overall trends. This study focuses on the Property Law of the People’s Republic of China promulgated in October 2007 in order to safeguard state and private property, as part of an ongoing effort to develop a civil code under the globalizing trend of integration. I chose this case study because the use of terms in the new property law and their contrast with the usage in Hong Kong law are highly representative of the latest developments. The present state of affairs is that no overall strategies have been formulated with regard to English-Chinese and Chinese-English legal term translation. As a result, there are problematic cases, but most of these remain untouched by linguists and translation scholars. In my conclusion, I attempt to measure the equivalence of terminology, in order to shed light on future directions in the translation of Chinese and Hong Kong legislature. I also make suggestions regarding the differentiation and standardization of terms commonly used in the property laws of the mainland and Hong Kong, and their translations.


Author(s):  
Moser Michael J ◽  
Choong John

This chapter evaluates the merits of Hong Kong as a venue for international arbitration proceedings. Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). British rule ended in 1997, with the PRC assuming sovereignty under the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. Hong Kong has long been one of the leading arbitral seats in Asia. Its prominence as a leading arbitral seat is due in large part to the establishment of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) in 1985 and adoption in 1990 of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration. Arbitration law and practice has remained unaffected by the handover to the PRC. Today Hong Kong continues to be widely regarded as one of the leading arbitral venues in Asia, particularly for China-related disputes. In addition, Hong Kong is also increasingly seen as one of the leading international arbitration seats worldwide.


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