Abduction would breach Sino-British pact: Hammond
Britain's foreign secretary Philip Hammond (left) meets Premier Li Keqiang in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters
Any abduction of people from Hong Kong to face charges elsewhere would be an "egregious breach" of One Country, Two Systems policy and the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, Britain's foreign secretary said on Wednesday.
Philip Hammond told reporters at the end of a two-day visit to Beijing that there had been "no progress" on determining the booksellers' whereabouts after raising the case with the mainland and Hong Kong officials.
"It would not be acceptable for someone to be spirited out of Hong Kong in order to face charges in a different jurisdiction," Hammond said. Such an action would be an "egregious breach" of the one-country, two-systems policy, Hong Kong's Basic Law and the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration, which provided for the handover of power.
"It's an essential part of the settlement in Hong Kong that it has its own judicial system and it is solely responsible for trying offences that occur in Hong Kong," Hammond said. There was only speculation about the disappearances and there was a need to "know what has happened and who is responsible for it", he said.
Lee Bo, 65, a shareholder of Causeway Bay Books and a British passport holder, went missing from Hong Kong last week, though his wife has withdrawn a missing persons report saying he travelled to Shenzhen voluntarily.
Four other associates of the publisher that specialises in selling gossipy political books on the mainland have been unaccounted for since October.
Hong Kong Security Secretary Lai Tung-kwok said the territory was still awaiting a response from the mainland authorities on the fate of the men, and would ask again "if necessary".
http://news.rthk.hk/rthk/en/component/k2/1234013-20160106.htm
