2019 Hong Kong extradition bill facts for kids

The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 was a suggested new law in Hong Kong. It aimed to change existing laws about sending people accused of crimes to other places. This bill would have allowed Hong Kong to send people suspected of crimes to parts of the People's Republic of China where it didn't have special agreements, like mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan. However, this bill was never officially passed into law.

Why Was This Bill Proposed?

In early 2018, a 19-year-old from Hong Kong was arrested in Taiwan. He was accused of a serious crime there. The problem was, Hong Kong didn't have a way to formally ask Taiwan to send him back to Hong Kong to face justice. This situation made people in Hong Kong start talking about their laws for dealing with suspected criminals in other places.

In February 2019, the Hong Kong government suggested a new law. This law was meant to make it possible for Hong Kong to send people accused of crimes to places where it didn't have a special agreement, such as mainland China, Macau, and Taiwan.

Concerns About the Bill

However, many people and groups, like Amnesty International, worried about this new law. They thought it could be used in a different way. They were concerned that the law might allow the government to send almost any Hong Kong resident accused of a crime to mainland China for trial, instead of having the trial in Hong Kong.

People worried because mainland China's legal system is seen as unfair by some. They feared the government might use this law to arrest Hong Kong residents who spoke out against the mainland government. These residents could then be sent to China as political prisoners, which would scare others in Hong Kong.

The government stopped trying to pass the bill on June 15, 2019. It was officially taken off the table on October 23, 2019.

What Happened Because of the Bill?

This proposed bill was one of the main reasons why many people in Hong Kong started large protests in 2019. These events are known as the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.

Images for kids

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  Members of two rival groups pushed and shoved each other in a meeting about the bill on 11 May 2019.

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  Thousands of protesters marched against the proposed law on 28 April 2019.

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  Protesters on Harcourt Road at night, with police nearby. 9 June 2019.

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  Organisers estimated nearly two million protesters took to the streets asking for the bill to be fully stopped on 16 June.