Arrest-notification process to be improved

The central government and the Hong Kong special administrative region agreed to improve the crossborder police notification system after the first round of discussions on the issue in Beijing on Tuesday.

Amendments to the process under which central government authorities notify Hong Kong authorities when a Hong Kong resident is arrested or detained on the mainland, and vice versa, will focus on four areas. They will deal with the time frame under which notification is made, the information that both parties need to share, the range of cases that will be reported and the channel for notification. Such improvements are expected to better safeguard the legal rights of people from both sides, facilitate the fight against cross-border crimes and maintain social prosperity and stability, under the "one country, two systems" principle, according to both sides.

The meeting on Tuesday was arranged after Leung Chun-ying, the Hong Kong SAR's chief executive, wrote to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council last month. He relayed the concerns of people in Hong Kong on incidents involving the arrest of Lam Wing-kee, the owner of a bookstore in Causeway Bay, and proposed reviewing the notification procedure.