The United States has halted its extradition treaty with Hong Kong.
The State Department made the announcement on Wednesday that the extradition treaty, along with bilateral agreements related to tax exemptions, would be paused or ended due to China’s implementation of a new “national security” law for the city.
“The Chinese Communist Party chose to crush the freedoms and autonomy of the people of Hong Kong,” said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. “Because of the CCP’s actions, we are terminating or suspending three of our bilateral agreements with the territory.”
It is unclear which of the bilateral agreements have been formally terminated and which were suspended.
Extradition treaties allow for someone who commits a crime in one country but flees to another to be sent back to their home country for prosecution. Under the new “national security” law, those supposed “criminals” could be sent to mainland China for trial and could be tried for “crimes” most in the U.S. would consider basic human freedoms.
“The Chinese Communist Party has taken drastic steps to erode the high degree of autonomy that Beijing itself promised to the United Kingdom and the people of Hong Kong for 50 years under the UN-registered Sino-British Joint Declaration,” department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. “President Trump has made clear that the United States will, therefore, treat Hong Kong as “one country, one system” and take action against individuals who have crushed the freedoms of the people of Hong Kong.”
Under similar reasoning, the United Kingdom suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong in mid-July.
The “national security” law, implemented several weeks ago, criminalizes subversion, secession, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. It’s written so vaguely, though, that it’s been used to crack down on dissidents. Already, many activists have been arrested and could face many years in prison for speaking out against the government.
