John Lee says he ‘definitely’ won’t promote extradition bill again

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said he “definitely” would not promote the extradition bill, which stirred mass protests in 2019, in his term and noted his top priority was the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law. 

Lee’s statement came in a TV interview aired on Wednesday, two days after national security police issued a HK$1 million bounty each on eight activists and former legislators who have fled Hong Kong. 

The eight, including Ted Hui Chi-fung and Nathan Law Kwun-chung, are now in the U.K., the U.S., or Australia – countries that do not have any extradition agreement with the SAR. 

“I will not handle the extradition bill anymore. Definitely. There are other more important issues to be solved,” Lee said. 

“If we say national security risks still exist, we will work on the legislation of Article 23 of the Basic Law, completing a task that remains unfinished for some 20 years. I think it is my first consideration. 

“Also, prevention is better than making arrests when it comes to national security, as everyone knows prevention is better than cure.” 

When asked if the legislation would take the 2024 Taiwan presidential election into account, the Hong Kong leader only said his cabinet had different risks to consider at different stages. 

At this stage, the job was to complete the legislation as soon as possible, Lee noted. 

He also believed society mutually agreed on concentrating on economic development. 

From running in the Chief Executive election to assuming office for a year, Lee didn’t mention political reform and universal suffrage in his manifesto or maiden policy address. 

Lee then responded that the electoral system for producing the Legislative Council had been improved, and it still took time to unleash the value of this enhanced system before the city moved to a new stage.