Editor's note: The article is based on the interview with Grenville Cross, a criminal justice analyst, barrister, and vice chairman of the senate of the International Association of Prosecutors. The article reflects the guest's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is in the spotlight after demonstrations rocked the city over now-suspended amendments to the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance.

Protesters took to the streets on June 9 and 12, pleading the government to withdraw the bill. Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on June 15 that the Hong Kong authorities are suspending the bill, but that did not stop a number of angry demonstrators from occupying the Legislative Council (LegCo) building on July 1.

Grenville Cross, a criminal justice analyst, barrister, and vice chairman of the senate of the International Association of Prosecutors, lamented the suspension of the bill in the wake of protests. In an interview with CGTN, he expressed belief that the demonstrations were caused in part by a general grievance vis-a-vis some areas of public policy in the city, and condemned the storming of the Legislative Council as a disgraceful act.

Fugitive bill ensures Hong Kong's safety

Cross said the bill is crucially important to stop Hong Kong from being seen as a safe haven for criminals.

"Obviously, I'm not happy with (the suspension of the bill), because Hong Kong has obligations not only to the rest of China, but also to the rest of the world. There are now 177 jurisdictions all together with which Hong Kong has no extradition arrangements," Cross, who is also a former director of public prosecutions in the city, told CGTN.

Cross pointed out that under the current law in Hong Kong, criminals cannot be transferred to the Chinese mainland to face trial. There are over 300 mainland fugitives in Hong Kong who have escaped justice because of deficiency in the law. Cross argued that passing the bill would also help bring convicted criminals from Macao hiding in Hong Kong to justice.

Cross noted that extraditing fugitive offenders to the places where their crimes allegedly took place is Hong Kong's obligation and the suspension of the bill has negative impacts on Hong Kong assuming its responsibility to combat crime.

"I'm afraid the result of what's happened [is that] Hong Kong has fallen down on its responsibilities, which is a great pity in my view," said Cross.

Dissatisfaction, delusion behind demonstrations

Cross said people in Hong Kong don't sufficiently understand the issue and the bill itself. As a result, those opposed to it have misconceptions, which sparked public discontent and led to the protests.

"Many of the people that I spoke to had never actually read the bill," noted Cross.

People were unaware of the fact that the Chinese mainland has signed 55 extradition agreements with other countries.

"France, Bulgaria and Italy have all sent people back to the Chinese mainland [for] trial pursuant to extradition agreements, and just last month Spain did exactly the same thing," said Cross.

In addition to these misunderstandings, Cross thinks that dissatisfaction with Hong Kong authorities' policies is another trigger.

"People were unhappy with the housing situation. People are unhappy with life livelihood issues," said Cross. "All sorts of factors are feeding into this."

It's a pity that all those factors came together to stifle what was an important initiative in terms of criminal justice, he said.

LegCo attackers should be severely punished

Although most of the protests were peaceful, as Cross pointed out, it was clear that there was a violent wing within the opposition, and they were prepared to use extreme violence in order to achieve their ends. Those who stormed the LegCo complex on July 1 are a case in point.

According to Cross, it's clear that they were highly organized, trained and resourced. He believes it's a reprehensible attack on the parliament.

Cross also stated that no civilized place would allow its parliament to be invaded in that way, and that there obviously must be consequences for those who were involved, because it is a direct attack on both the rule of law and the people's way of life.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com)