The UK authorities is transferring to reinstate extradition cooperation with Hong Kong that was suspended 5 years in the past because of considerations in regards to the metropolis’s Chinese language nationwide safety legal guidelines.
The Dwelling Workplace utilized to Parliament to make the adjustments on July 17, adopted by a letter to Shadow Dwelling Secretary Chris Philp the subsequent day.
“It’s in our nationwide curiosity to have efficient extradition relationships to stop criminals from evading justice and the UK turning into a haven for criminals,” the July 18 letter from Safety Minister Dan Jarvis mentioned.
The Dwelling Workplace additionally plans to revive an extradition framework with Chile and Zimbabwe, in line with the letter, which was shared on X by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns.
Circumstances for Hong Kong and Zimbabwe would each be thought-about on a “case-by-case foundation,” Jarvis mentioned.
Hong Kong, a former British colony, is a specific sticking level for the UK because of their historic relationship and the sharp decline in political freedoms in Hong Kong since China imposed controversial nationwide safety laws in 2020.
In 2024, legislators in Hong Kong authorised a brand new nationwide safety legislation - referred to as Article 23 – that gave the federal government new powers to crack down on all types of dissent on the grounds of alleged treason, espionage, sedition and exterior interference in Hong Kong’s inner affairs.
On the time, Hong Kong’s authorities mentioned Article 23 was wanted to stop a recurrence of the protests of 2019, and that its provisions would solely have an effect on “a particularly small minority” of disloyal residents.
The UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany and the US all suspended their extradition agreements in 2020 with the Chinese language metropolis because of considerations about how the legal guidelines can be used.
“For my part, reinstating extradition with Hong Kong is morally indefensible. The Chinese language Communist Celebration has turned Hong Kong right into a surveillance state the place freedom of expression, rule of legislation, and fundamental civil liberties are systematically dismantled,” Kearns wrote on X.
“This transfer dangers legitimizing a regime that imprisons critics, silences democracy activists, and makes use of extradition as a device of persecution,” she mentioned.
Right here is the letter from the Dwelling Workplace.
For my part, reinstating extradition with Hong Kong is morally indefensible.
The Chinese language Communist Celebration has turned Hong Kong right into a surveillance state the place freedom of expression, rule of legislation, and fundamental civil liberties are… pic.twitter.com/6gb923QXKb
— Alicia Kearns MP (@aliciakearns) July 24, 2025
Ronny Tong, a Hong Kong barrister and member of town’s government council, informed Al Jazeera that considerations a couple of potential extradition deal have been overblown.
“Extradition is in relation to non-political legal instances, so any concern that it’d be used to switch individuals with political crimes, eg, nationwide safety instances, is completely unfounded and solely reveals ignorance of the process,” he mentioned. “Moreover, it’s as much as judges of the transferring state to make sure the process won’t be abused.”
He mentioned town was “greater than able to restart the association, as we’ve full confidence our judges are completely unbiased and of highest integrity”.
Hong Kong’s 2020 nationwide safety legislation criminalised secession, subversion, terrorism and international interference, and was supplemented in 2024 to incorporate treason, sedition, theft of state secrets and techniques, espionage, sabotage, and exterior interference.
Hong Kong’s authorities has mentioned the legal guidelines are obligatory to guard town from political sabotage and international affect, following months of pro-democracy demonstrations in 2019.
Safety Minister Chris Tang mentioned in June that 326 individuals have been arrested beneath Hong Kong’s nationwide safety legal guidelines since 2020.
The federal government has additionally used worldwide bounties to increase its attain to Hong Kong activists overseas, or cancelled their passports whereas they have been abroad.
The strikes have been seen as largely symbolic, but in addition chilling for a metropolis that was as soon as thought-about the freest place in Asia.
On Friday, Hong Kong issued a brand new listing of bounties for 19 activists concerned with a pro-Hong Kong democracy NGO in Canada.
Hong Kong returned to Chinese language sovereignty in 1997 as a “particular administrative area” and was promised particular rights and freedoms till 2047, beneath the Sino-British Joint Declaration.