HK Extradition Treaty and why Article 23 is needed.

DFR6868

Master Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,764
Reaction score
11
seems like colour revolution being practiced given the protests over the extradition treaty bill.

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general...os_share_flow_optimization&utm_term=control_1

In response to a public procession today (June 9) on the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 (the Bill), a Government spokesman said:

As a free, open and pluralistic society, we acknowledge and respect that people have different views on a wide range of issues. The procession today is an example of Hong Kong people exercising their freedom of expression within their rights as enshrined in the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance. At the time of this statement, we note that apart from some obstructions to traffic, the march, though large, was generally peaceful and orderly. As usual, the Police have provided the needed facilitation before and during this public order event and taken resolute actions against breaches of the law.

The reasons why the Government tabled this Bill have been explained in detail on many occasions. Based on experience in recent weeks that face-to-face explanations by relevant officials have helped to dispel misunderstanding, the Government will continue to engage, listen and allay concerns through calm and rational discussion.

The Government spokesman stressed the following points:

The Bill was prompted by the murder of a Hong Kong citizen in Taiwan which brought into sharper focus deficiencies of the existing regime dealing with mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and the surrender of fugitives. If these deficiencies were not addressed as a matter of priority, Hong Kong would continue to be a bolt-hole for criminals, putting Hong Kong residents' safety at risk and disregarding our international responsibilities in the fight against cross-border and transnational crimes.

The Bill covers only the most serious crimes punishable by imprisonment of seven years or more (i.e. cases that would normally be tried in Hong Kong's High Court) and the crimes must exist in the laws of both Hong Kong and the requesting jurisdiction before a surrender request will be processed.

None of these serious criminal offences relate to the freedom of assembly, of the press, of speech, of academic freedom or publication. And no surrender for a political offence or if the purported charges are in fact on account of race, religion, nationality or political opinions.

Executive and judicial safeguards built into the system protect all the human rights enshrined in the Basic Law and Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and ensure that any requests for assistance or surrender are legal, and subject to challenge and review up to the Court of Final Appeal. As guaranteed under the Basic Law, the courts of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region exercise judicial power independently, free from any interference.

Throughout the past four months, the Government has listened attentively to views expressed and responded positively to suggestions made. As a result, two sets of amendments were made, respectively before and after the presentation of the Bill. These have provided additional safeguards which have been welcomed by stakeholders and have effectively allayed most of those earlier concerns. The Chief Executive could not bypass the Court to surrender a fugitive to any requesting party including the Mainland. The government's proposals are therefore firmly grounded in the rule of law.

"We urge the Legislative Council to scrutinise the Bill in a calm, reasonable and respectful manner to help ensure Hong Kong remains a safe city for residents and business."

The Second Reading debate on the Bill will resume on June 12.
 

DFR6868

Master Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,764
Reaction score
11
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3005942/hong-kong-man-wanted-taiwan-murder-case-could-escape

Hong Kong man wanted in Taiwan murder case ‘could escape extradition’ after pleading guilty to money laundering charges

Court hears for first time that man admitted to killing his girlfriend after learning she was pregnant with another man’s child

Yet legal experts say Chan could escape extradition if he walks free of a money laundering sentence before the new fugitive bill is passed

A Hong Kong student wanted in Taiwan for the murder of his pregnant girlfriend pleaded guilty on Friday to money laundering charges at the High Court, raising the possibility of a prison term that could help him avoid extradition to the self-ruled island.

Chan Tong-kai, 20, is at the centre of a firestorm over the government’s proposal to allow the transfer of fugitives from Hong Kong to mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, with officials arguing that his case exposes a loophole that needs to be plugged.

The High Court heard for the first time that Chan admitted to police he had killed his girlfriend, Poon Hiu-wing, 20, while in Taiwan after learning that she was pregnant with another man’s child, hours before they were due to return to Hong Kong on February 17, 2018.

The Shenzhen-born student also admitted to taking her ATM card and withdrawing money from her account to pay credit card bills.

Chan has been on Taiwanese authorities’ wanted list since Poon’s decomposed body was found in bushes near a subway station on the outskirts of Taipei on March 13, 2018.

Taiwanese authorities said they had sought Chan’s extradition, but received no response from Hong Kong.

Eric Cheung Tat-ming, a principal law lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, agreed that Chan would be able to avoid extradition, but wondered if it would matter.

“Surely he could leave Hong Kong,” Cheung said. “But would other places let him in?”

Cheung said Chan would face risks in any country that has an extradition treaty with Taiwan, and he could run afoul of laws abroad as well as visa rules.

Even so, Cheung urged the government not to push through the new fugitive law amendments just to suit Chan’s case.

Pro-establishment lawmaker Holden Chow Ho-ding, a lawyer who has been in contact with Poon’s family, expected Chan to be released soon.

From past cases, the jail term for money laundering could be around one to years.

Holden Chow, a lawmaker
“From past cases, the jail term for money laundering could be around one to two years. So, deducting the time that he’s spent in detention, he could be freed after the sentencing [on April 29],” he said.

Chan has been in custody since he was arrested by Hong Kong police on March 13, 2018. He pleaded guilty to four counts of dealing with property known or believed to represent the proceeds of an indictable offence at Eastern Court on December 31, 2018.

The money laundering charges stem from Chan’s theft of Poon’s property, which included her HSBC bank card, a Casio digital camera, an iPhone 6, and 20,000 New Taiwan dollars (US$650) and HK$19,200 (US$2,445) in cash.
On Friday, Chan confirmed those pleas were voluntarily entered.

Revealing details of the case for the first time, prosecutors said the pair met at work in July 2017 and became lovers the next month. Poon confirmed she was five weeks pregnant in early December.

They travelled to Taipei on February 8, 2018. A copy of Chan’s arrival and departure card for Taiwan was discovered in Poon’s flat, leading police to interview him on March 13.

Under caution, Chan said the couple had quarrelled after Poon allegedly revealed that her baby belonged to her former boyfriend and showed him a video of her having sex with another man.

Feeling agitated, Chan said he hit Poon’s head against the wall, strangled her from behind with both hands and struggled with her on the floor for around 10 minutes until she was dead.

Chan also admitted to using Poon’s ATM card to withdraw 20,000 New Taiwan dollars to buy clothes – which he did not end up doing – and then again after he returned to Hong Kong to withdraw HK$19,200 to settle his credit card bills.

In mitigation, defence counsel Ronny Leung said Chan was a man with a clear record who had been remanded in custody since March 2018.
Money laundering carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison and a HK$5 million fine (US$636,947).

Prosecutors had asked the court to consider the murder as the predicate offence for money laundering, which they argue would lead to a higher sentence. That request was rejected by Madam Justice Anthea Pang Po-kam, who will sentence Chan on April 29.

Separately, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu said at the Legislative Council on Friday that he would respect the court’s decision in the murder case.

Lee revealed that the Hong Kong government had asked to meet Taiwanese authorities through two semi-official agencies: the local Hong Kong-Taiwan Economic and Cultural Co-operation and Promotion Council and its Taipei-based counterpart, the Taiwan-Hong Kong Economic and Cultural Co-operation Council.

“We are anxious about it, and we hope to do some preparation before the law can be amended so through the [two councils] we told Taiwan this month that we wanted to discuss this issue as soon as possible,” he said.

A month earlier, Taiwanese officials had complained that their Hong Kong counterparts were lukewarm about discussing the case through the two agencies, which were established in 2010 to promote exchanges amid cross-strait ties at that time.

The government has already proposed to water down the extradition law by exempting a list of white-collar crimes to pacify the business community, but has been unable to convince those who mistrust the mainland legal system.
 

DFR6868

Master Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,764
Reaction score
11
6b2nGoW.jpg


from sg talk which less ib around.
 

DFR6868

Master Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2008
Messages
4,764
Reaction score
11
As I wrote before

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/121299836-post18.html

15-06-2019, 08:37 PM

hk oligarchs use this an "innoculation" measure against future introduction of extradition or internal security laws.
carrie is what the oligarchs presented to beijing as candidate.

hk situation not simpur one.

got beijing
got foreign powers and their fifth column agents
got hk oligarchs

========

for an elaboration of this point, see this quora answer.

https://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-extradition-bill-with-China-so-controversial-in-Hong-Kong/answer/Robin-Daverman

Robin Daverman, World traveler
Updated Jun 21, 2019

Why is the extradition bill with China so controversial in Hong Kong?

Basically the Extradition Bill threatened the core interest of Hong Kong’s tycoons. Yes, the ones coming out to march were the middle-class, but in a society with as extreme level of inequality as Hong Kong, you can safely assume that the middle class will always go to bat to safeguard the interest of the extremely rich, i.e., the tycoons. The psychology of Reinforcement has been well-studied and understood for over a hundred years. Operant conditioning

Hong Kong has little resources of its own, and its economy is highly tied to its status as an “international financial center”. A lot of other British Overseas Colonies have the same role.


UK and territories are 'greatest enabler' of tax avoidance, study says

7 out of the top 10 are current or former British colonies. One has to ask, why is Paris not an “international finance center”? Why not Frankfurt? Why not Tokyo? All of these countries have great economy. But no. In order to become such an “international finance center”, you need three things:

Finance: low tax regime/no tax on overseas jurisdiction
Legal: Safety in Person and Assets + Banking Secrecy.
Political: Political sovereignty so that no other country is going to send in a troop of Marines to grab you and your documents and whisk you off to court elsewhere.
This is why places like Paris can not afford No. 1, because poor young people have to be educated, and poor sick people have to be taken care of by somebody, and poor old people have to be pensioned off. That pool of high quality labor doesn’t drop from the sky. Somebody paid to sustain it. Like Paris, Frankfurt, and Tokyo. For every two “skilled labor”, you have to at least pay for one old, one young, one sick to sustain the whole population. Those countries boasting about “foreign skilled labor” is just using euphemism to say, I don’t pay to develop my own people, and I certainly don’t pay to develop foreign labor, but I will entice educated foreigners to work here by promising that they don’t have to pay taxes to their own government to fund the education, healthcare, and pension of their fellow countrymen ever.

Well, the extradition law threatened No. 2 on the list. Especially over charges like bribery and money laundering. Frankly, if you are serious about these kind of charges, half of London will be in jail. But let’s not even look too far. One of the beloved Hong Kong tycoon, Joseph Lau, with $17 billion in assets, is a convicted felon and fugitive from Macao. UPDATE 1-HK billionaire Lau guilty in Macau graft case The dude wrote a $2.6 million dollar check to a Macao government official for a piece of land there.

RTHK said that in the absence of an extradition treaty between Hong Kong and Macau, the pair would escape imprisonment unless they visited the enclave. The men did not attend Friday’s hearing in Macau.

So, are you in favor of extradition or not? NOT! If money laundering is a crime, you might as well just close down all the Hong Kong banks! I guarantee you 100% of them are involved in money laundering from mainland China to Hong Kong Dollar/USD! Some people are asking, why not having a one-off law to send the murderer back to Taiwan to face trial? Well if you can do that, why not a one-off law to send the tycoon to jail in Macao? No, absolutely not!

As for the murder case that started this ball rolling, let me tell you the attitude of Hong Kong tycoons about this sort of stuff. Hong Kong Crime Wave: Why the 1990s Were a Decade of Famous Gangsters and Spectacular Robberies - Zolima City Magazine In 1996, the son of the richest man in Hong Kong, Li Ka-shing, was kidnapped by a local gangster, Cheung Tze-keung. Li promptly paid HK$ 1 billion to get his son back, and took the whole episode as a lesson well-learned, because “a man as rich as I am, without adequate personal protection, is a mistake”. So now, the Hong Kong tycoons lead entirely separate lives from the local population, well-protected from the riffraffs of life, when with one tenth of that ransom money to the Police, he could have made the entire Hong Kong safe from violent crimes. Casual murders don’t bother the tycoons. Hong Kong - is not a Norway or a Sweden! Can you even imagine if Norway’s Prime Minister is attacked in the street, he goes, a man as important as I am need more protection, instead of “let’s fund the police so that public safety can be improved”?

Exclusive: Hong Kong tycoons start moving assets offshore as fears...

(PS: The wave of violent crimes in Hong Kong came to an abrupt end when Hong Kong was handed over to PRC in 1997, as everybody knew that the PLA would not tolerate this type of stuff. The kidnapper of Li’s son, Cheung, was arrested by the PRC in August 1998, tried and convicted in November, and executed in December. Just like that.)

Beijing said that it was not involved in the extradition bill, and that’s probably true, because it has been clear since mid-2018 that Beijing shifted gear to more financial easing instead of financial constraints itself. Here is the reason.

During the 90’s, the Switzerland banking secrecy blew up because of its entanglement with the Nazi Gold. World Jewish Congress lawsuit against Swiss banks This turned the world sentiment against banking secrecy. Countless legislatures and diplomatic threats followed. Then in 2010, the US led the way to suppress foreign tax shelters by launching FATCA. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Basically, foreign banks must report American citizen’s income to the IRS. The EU said, OK, so you don’t want your citizens to skim taxes. Well we don’t want EU citizens to skim on our taxes either. So the EU launched CRS in 2014. Common Reporting Standard - Wikipedia China and another 109 countries signed up to it. If you recall, during that time period was all the news reporting against tax shelters. But then the US said, wait, I refuse to sign on to this! I only want to catch my own tax-cheats. Your tax-cheats are welcome to enjoy my protection! By late 2017, the US investment bankers have started marketing Nevada, Wyoming, and South Dakota as your brand new tax havens, better than Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands. The U.S. Is Becoming the World's New Tax Haven This one address, 1209 North Orange Street, Delaware, is home to over 285,000 companies! How Delaware Thrives as a Corporate Tax Haven GE, JP Morgan, Berkeshire Hathaway, Walmart, Apple, Coca Cola, and BOTH TRUMP AND CLINTON have companies registered at this address. Basically, the US is shutting down foreign tax havens in order to replace them with her own. Everybody in the finance world knows that this is going to be a race to the bottom, and THERE’S NO WAY TO STOP IT IF THE US THROWS ITS WEIGHT BEHIND IT! The biggest loophole of all So China started cutting its own taxes significantly since mid-2018. I mean, even the dumbest idiot in CCP can see that if there’s a tax haven, it’s better for the money to be parked in Hong Kong than in South Dakota. Duh! So People’s Daily published an editorial on this, basically saying, Hong Kong, the only thing I want from you, is to be your old little “international finance center”, and “International trade center”. I have zero expectation besides those two!

Time has changed. You can no longer tax the rich under the current circumstances. The only way to get money out of the rich is to beg them for charity, or pay them way more than they put in down the line. Now it’s all out “financial robber barons” in play. One rule for you, one rule for me. So forget about the rules. It’s all about “how much resources under my control”! If this is not clear to you, just compare these two pieces of financial news:

Trump calls on Fed to cut rates by 1% and urges more quantitative easing

Trump blasts comments by ECB's Draghi, cites unfair competition

Hong Kong democracy is a funny thing. Somehow it voted to have the highest Gini Index among developed nations, and it voted to have 50% of its population pay 70% of their income for rent, and it voted to have 20% of its population living in poverty. So your average Hong Kong resident is not scared by the local mafia the Triad, by the tycoons running the town for their own benefit, by AK-47 shooting up the Admiralty, by paying 70% of your income to rent, or by dying penniless, but extraditing somebody to PRC for violent crimes, wow, that scares the cr*ap out of one! I can’t think of a better democracy for Hong Kong’s real estate tycoons. LOL! Mortgages taking 70 per cent of monthly income: Hong Kong finance chief

PS: This “make my country a great tax haven” strategy, for a country the size of the US, is dumb as f*ck. Go back and take a look at the top tax shelters. What do you see? They are all tiny countries! The logic of a tax shelter, since it reduces overall taxes, is this: I screw you out of $10 million. I pocket $500,000 as my fee. But you have 20 million people to divide up your tax receipts, and I only have 20 people on my island. So you lose only a little bit per capita, but I get a lot per capita. I’m happy, and you don’t lose out so much you’d come after me with guns blazing.

But the US has 330 million people. It’s not a small island. So you cut the tax rate in order to attract hot money, and you lose all that tax receipts from your own tax base in the US. So you lose more than you take in, which means you have to take on more debt to finance the operations. The profit goes to the bankers, and the debt is carried by all American citizens. The national debt goes through the roof. USD goes to sh*t. Everybody loses. U.S. National Debt Hits Record $22 Trillion

Assuming this strategy is in play for the next five years, the one that gets hurt the most is EU, because of the high tax / high service social structure there. The US will get hit as well. China, paradoxically, will be quite manageable. In case you forget - China has State Owned Enterprises that are rolling in dough, and state monopoly on land, electricity, transportation, grains, tobacco and alcohol, etc., etc…

Makes you wonder who Washington hates more, the Europeans, the Chinese or the Other Americans. Most likely all of us!
 
Important Forum Advisory Note
This forum is moderated by volunteer moderators who will react only to members' feedback on posts. Moderators are not employees or representatives of HWZ. Forum members and moderators are responsible for their own posts.

Please refer to our Community Guidelines and Standards, Terms of Service and Member T&Cs for more information.
Top