Missing editors mark new setback in SAR extradition deal

Negotiations over a legal agreement between Hong Kong and Macau that would allow the extradition of fugitives between the two Special Administrative Regions has encountered another setback over the case of missing publishers, such as Lee Bo.
An unidentified source close to the matter told the SCMP that the negotiations have been “put in an even more difficult place,” following the bookseller scandal that started in October.
“Differences between the Hong Kong and Macau legal systems and the unique constitutional status of the two SARs within China meant the negotiations were always going to be difficult,” the source said. “The Lee [Bo] situation has made things even worse.”
The talks, which have been in progress for two and a half years, have been subjected to a number of complications in recent months. If it can be concluded, the agreement will be the first of its kind, allowing fugitives who reside in one SAR in order to avoid punishment in the other to be returned to their place of origin.
Michael Blanchflower, a key drafter in Hong Kong’s implementation of the Organized and Serious Crime Ordinance, told SCMP that the disappearances “put into question the ongoing negotiations between Hong and Macau over mutual legal assistance.”
“It also raises the specter of wanted fugitives overseas putting up an argument that they might be subject to mainland legal strictures if returned to Hong Kong,” he added.
However, political activists already voiced their concerns in relation to further instances of extradition to the mainland. In September, Jason Chao pointed out that cases in which double criminality does not apply may see Hong Kong residents extradited to Beijing via Macau, even though the person in question has not committed a crime according to Macau’s Basic Law.
Earlier last year, Macau’s director of the Law Reform and International Law Bureau, Chu Lam Lam, confidently told lawmakers that the extradition deal would be signed in 2015. Staff reporter