France gave up ratifying the extradition agreement with Hong Kong Due to the imposition by China of the controversial security law in the former British colony, French diplomacy announced Monday.
“In light of the latest developments, France will not proceed in the current state to ratify the extradition agreement signed on May 4, 2017 between France and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,” said the spokeswoman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Exteriors, Agnès von der Mühll.
The agreement provides for the possibility of extraditing any person wanted by one of the two parties who is in the territory of the other. It is currently under review in the French Parliament, which must approve it before ratification by the president, an unlikely scenario now.
The law imposed by Beijing in Hong Kong is intended to suppress subversion, secession, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, in response to the protest movement against the central power that began last year in this semi-autonomous territory.
The law constitutes a radical change for Hong Kong after the UK’s return to China in 1997. Pro-democracy militants fear the unprecedented erosion of freedoms and autonomy.
This law “questions the principle of ‘one country, two systems’ and respect for Hong Kong’s ‘high level of autonomy’ and the fundamental freedoms that flow from it,” says the ministry. It also “directly affects our nationals and our companies.”
France has called for the Hong Kong legislative elections, initially scheduled for September and postponed on Friday for a year due to the coronavirus following the disqualification of candidates from the pro-democracy movement, “as soon as possible”.
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