Political situation
Written by: Peng Zhuowei
2020-07-28 18:52
Last update date: 2020-07-28 18:52Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said today (28th) that in response to the recent unilateral suspension of Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia's recent unilateral suspension of the surrender of fugitives agreements with Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government will suspend mutual legal assistance agreements with Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
The spokesperson of the SAR government stated that the three countries unilaterally suspended the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders signed with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the pretext of the Hong Kong National Security Law. This is a double-standard political operation and grossly interferes in China’s internal affairs and seriously violates international law and basic norms of international relations. The Hong Kong government strongly opposes this.
The spokesperson also pointed out that Canada, Australia, and the UK's wrongful act of politicizing judicial cooperation has severely damaged the foundation of judicial cooperation between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom. For this reason, the Hong Kong Government has suspended the implementation of the Hong Kong-Canada Criminal Judicial Assistance Agreement, the Hong Kong-Macao Criminal Judicial Assistance Agreement, and the Hong Kong-British Criminal Judicial Assistance Agreement in accordance with the instructions of the Central People’s Government.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor (Photo/Photo by Lu Yiming)
A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Government stated that in accordance with the instructions of the Central People’s Government, the SAR Government has issued notices to the Canadian Consulate, the Australian Consulate and the British Consulate today (28th) to suspend the implementation of the "Agreement on Criminal Judicial Assistance between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Canadian Government." , "Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Justice between the Hong Kong Government and the Australian Government" and "Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Justice between the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the British Government."
Hong Kong Government:
Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom have laws to safeguard national security and sovereignty. The spokesperson said that it is an international practice to maintain national security through laws, while Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have laws to safeguard their national security and sovereignty, as well as related enforcement mechanisms. , Such as: Canada’s National Security Act, Criminal Code, Access to Information Act, Secure Air Travel Act, and Canada Elections Act; Australia’s National Security Law Amendment (Espionage and Foreign Interference) Act, Criminal Code Act (Criminal Code Act) ), the Crimes Act and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme Act; and the Treason Felony Act and the Official Secrets Act in the United Kingdom Act), "Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act" and "Security Service Act".
The spokesperson criticized that the three countries unilaterally suspended the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders signed with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the pretext of the "Hong Kong National Security Law", which is a double-standard political operation; they grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and seriously violated international law and basic norms of international relations. The government strongly opposes this.
The spokesperson emphasized that, with the authorization and assistance of the Central People’s Government and the principle of mutual assistance, the Hong Kong government has been conducting close and effective law enforcement with Canada, Australia and the UK under the framework of the surrender of fugitive offenders agreement and the criminal judicial assistance agreement. Cooperation. Even though the criminal judicial assistance agreements with Hong Kong and the three places have suspended operations, Hong Kong has a comprehensive mutual legal assistance and surrender cooperation mechanism. It is emphasized that the SAR government will, as always, uphold the principle of mutual assistance and mutual benefit, and cooperate with other members of the international community in law enforcement according to law.
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