## The Role of Religions in Extradition Law Amendment Bill Protest

## Background

Carrie Lam, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, contends that the proposed amendments to the extradition law (hereafter referred to as the bill) are intended to respond to the murder case in Taiwan (there is no extradition arrangement between Hong Kong and Taiwan), but the scope of the bill includes China. Since the Chinese government has a poor record of human rights, the people of Hong Kong are worried that the bill will give legitimacy to the Chinese government to interfere in the Hong Kong legal system. Furthermore, the government will allow only 20 days for public consultation, an unusually short time for such a controversial bill. Although the government has finally accepted some suggestions and revised the original proposal, (including no extradition arrangements to be made on political, religious, or ethnic grounds) it does not diminish the concerns of the people of Hong Kong. This is because the Chinese government commonly uses false accusations to incriminate people. For instance, a Hong Kong Christian smuggling the Bible into China was accused of illegal economic activity. Pastors in the Chinese mainland protesting against forced removal of crosses from church buildings in 2014 were accused of causing social disorder and illegal money collection from congregants. On June 9, 2019, more than a million people joined the demonstration in Hong Kong demanding that the government withdraw the bill. However, the government has refused this request, and on the evening of the same day, it announced that the second reading of the bill would go ahead on schedule on June 12. This provoked public anger, as the government showed no sign of listening to the voice of the people. In order to stop the meeting of the Legislative Council being held, some protestors (mostly young people) blocked the roads heading to the Legislative Council Building. In response, the government chose to use force against the protesters instead of engaging in dialogue. Under pressure from the Hong Kongers, on June 15, the government finally decided to suspend the bill with no timeline, but people refused to accept this as a resolution. On June 23, two million people took to the streets in another demonstration. They demanded the withdrawal of the bill, the withdrawal of the term “riot” in regard to the protesters, amnesty for the arrested and the setting up an independent investigation committee to examine police brutality as well as the resignation of Carrie Lam (the last demand was changed to universal suffrage at a later stage). Lam and a few senior officials have made public apologies, but Lam has not responded to the five demands from the people. Finally, Lam formally announced the withdrawal of the bill on September 4, 2019, but it was too late. Hong Kongers insist on “Five demands, no one less.”

## Institutional Religions

The Colloquium of Six Religious Leaders of Hong Kong (Buddhism, Catholicism, Confucianism, Daoism, Islam and Protestantism) did not make any comment on the issue of the bill until there was a serious clash between police and protestors on June 12, 2019. Its first statement on the bill was made on June 12, 2019 after the chairperson of the Legislative Council adjourned the second reading of the bill due to the blocking of the roads heading to the