Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for Security, Mr John Lee, at a media session after the Bills Committee on Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 meeting at the Legislative Council (LegCo) today (April 17):
Reporter: (About the urgency of the amendment bill.)
Secretary for Security: I am extremely disappointed and I regret that it has taken two hours for the Bills Committee to hold the meeting without even appointing a chairman. In my memory, it has not happened before. The Government is very serious about this proposal because there is an urgency of this matter. We all know that the suspect of the Taiwan murder case has pleaded guilty to the charges of money laundering in Hong Kong and the court will mention the case again on the 29th of this month. We have to deal with the real fact at the present moment we have no legal basis to deal with this suspect for the Taiwan murder case. So we urge every member of the Bills Committee to allow a rational discussion at the Bills Committee, so that views will be heard and explanations can be given for the final decision by LegCo.
We now lack the law and also lack a practicable solution to deal with similar serious cases which can happen at any time, at any place, to any victim in a jurisdiction which is beyond the 20 countries with which we have signed (long-term) agreements. So the urgency of the matter really requires every one of us to treat this urgently, so that we can have a final solution to deal with the two very important matters that I have just mentioned.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Follow this news feed: East Asia