2013-03-05 Hong Kong's extradition treaties
According to Wikipedia, "Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties". Even though Hong Kong has returned to China, Hong Kong continues to negotiate treaties with other countries independently of China, as was arranged by the Basic Law.
Countries which have extradition treaties with Hong Kong include Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Q: Can you think of one special country that is missing from the list? A: China! Hong Kong and China do not have an extradition treaty!
Hong Kong has tried to arrange extradition treaties with more countries, especially the countries of hundreds of foreign inmates in Hong Kong's prisons, but quite a number of other countries don't want a treaty. This is because those countries' prisons are full, or they don't want to pay for the upkeep of the prisoners, or they fear returning prisoners will be able to bribe their way to freedom, or ...they just don't really care about their nationals in Hong Kong's prisons.
And sometimes overseas prisoners in Hong Kong don't want to be expatriated! This is because Hong Kong has one of the best prison systems in the world, and prisoners are treated well. But if prisoners go back to their own countries, they might face much worse prison conditions, including poor sanitation, lack of protection from bullying, and ....unless relatives pay for their upkeep...very poor food!
Correction: final paragraph, line one: should read "repatriated", not "expatriated"