Australia suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, the country’s premier announced on Thursday, citing a lack of “trust and confidence” due to the new security law imposed by China.
“THERE NEEDS TO BE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE”
“With any extradition agreement, there needs to be trust and confidence between the two legal systems,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at a news conference in the capital Canberra, ABC News reported.
He said visas of Hong Kong residents already in Australia will be extended by up to five years.
According to ABC News, students and people with temporary work visas can apply for an extension and will also have the opportunity to seek permanent residency.
“The most significant impact of the decisions we’ve made today are for those around 10,000 people who are already in Australia,” said Morrison. He said the law enforced by Beijing on its special administrative region has increased the “risk of someone being sent to Hong Kong and ending up in mainland China.”
The National Security Law came after months of protests in Hong Kong last year against a move to legalize extradition of accused people to mainland China.