China suspends HK's SFO agreement with Germany, shelves one with France

BEIJING, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- China has decided to suspend the agreement on the surrender of fugitive offenders (SFO) between its Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Germany and shelve a similar one with France, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a daily press briefing Thursday.

According to media reports, the HKSAR government on Wednesday has issued notices of the above-mentioned decisions to the consulate generals of Germany and France in Hong Kong.

When responding to a query about whether the moves are countermeasures against earlier announcements by the two countries to suspend relevant extradition agreements with Hong Kong, Zhao said Germany's unilateral announcement of suspending the agreement and France's halt of the ratification of the agreement have politicized judicial cooperation with Hong Kong, interfered in China's internal affairs and violated international laws and basic norms governing international relations. "China is firmly opposed to such practices," said Zhao.

Zhao added that with the assistance and authorization of the central government, the HKSAR has actively rendered assistance to Germany in accordance with the Basic Law and within the framework of the extradition agreement, and has also ratified a similar agreement with France.

The wrongdoing of the two countries has damaged the foundation of Hong Kong's judicial cooperation with Germany and France and deviated from the purpose of safeguarding the justice and the rule of law in judicial cooperation.

Therefore, the Chinese side has decided to suspend the HKSAR's SFO agreement with Germany and shelve the one with France, Zhao said.